Nevada man pleads not guilty in alleged cannabis business fraud in New Mexico
LAS CRUCES - A Nevada man pleaded not guilty to fraud charges in Third Judicial District Court on Monday.
A grand jury indicted Gregory Tolver, 64, on one count of second-degree fraud, second-degree embezzlement, third-degree securities fraud, third-degree sale of an unregistered security, and issuing a worthless check stemming from a cannabis business deal from 2019.
According to a criminal complaint, Tolver, his son, and a man from Albuquerque agreed to buy $50,000 worth of shares into a CBD and cannabis business. The complaint said that $25,000 was to come from the Albuquerque man and the rest from Tolver and his son.
The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department said in the criminal complaint the business grew cannabis with the specific intent of cultivating CBD oil. The oil is sold over the counter in New Mexico to treat pain and stimulate appetite without affecting a person's mental state.
CBD oil is sold at a price range of 9 cents to 20 cents per milligram. Most bottles of CBD oil contain one fluid ounce of liquid.
The RLD accused Tolver of promising the Albuquerque man that they'd be able to double their $50,000 investment in a year.
However, the RLD said Tolver did not disclose that he'd filed for bankruptcy twice since 1992, once in Louisiana and once in California. RLD also said Tolver was hit with three tax liens, twice in California and once from the federal government, over the same time frame.
By withholding that information, the RLD said that Tolver violated state law regarding securities fraud.
After receiving the money from the Albuquerque man in 2019, RLD said Tolver put the $25,000 into his personal checking and savings account to cover insufficient funds. The same money was then used for personal expenditures, like dining, retail and credit card debt, the RLD said.
A year later, Tolver wrote out a check to the Albuquerque man for $17,000, the RLD said. When the man went to cash the check, the bank told him it bounced, RLD said. There weren't enough funds in Tolver's account to cover the check.
At an arraignment hearing on Monday, Third Judicial District Judge Richard Jacquez lowered Tolver's $10,000 secured bond to $5,000 secured. Tolver has not been arrested, as he lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jacquez said Tolver still must post the bond in order to avoid an arrest warrant being issued.
According to the criminal complaint, Tolver could face up to 16 and half years in prison, $21,000 in fines and five years parole.
Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.
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