KINGFISHER, Okla. (KFOR) – Another arrest has been made surrounding the quadruple murder at a marijuana farm in Kingfisher county in late November. This week, the alleged illegal “straw” owner of the operation was placed behind bars.
According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, a “straw” or “ghost” owner is a person whose name is listed as the 75 percent owner of an Oklahoma marijuana operation but isn’t actually involved in running it.
Newly filed court documents say 35-year-old Richard Ignacio agreed to be straw owner for $2,000 a month, an illegal act in Oklahoma.
OSBI said suspected gunman Wu Chen killed four people execution style at the Lui and Chen Inc. marijuana grow farm near Hennessey, Kingfisher County on November 20.
Chen fled to Florida and was extradited back to Oklahoma.
On Wednesday, Ignacio was put behind bars, charged with felony conspiracy against state, accused of “falsely and fraudulent obtained the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority License and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Registration necessary to manufacture marijuana by falsely claiming 75% ownership in Liu & Chen Inc., in order to meet the residency ownership requirements for licensing and manufacturing pursuant to Oklahoma law.”
OBN Spokesman Mark Woodward has been explaining to KFOR since this case broke out that the 75 percent owner of an Oklahoma marijuana business has to have lived in state for two years and must be involved in the day-to-day management of the operation or else, they’re considered a “straw” or “ghost” owner.
“When the 75% owner knows nothing about the business, they simply agree to put their name on there and they get paid for that, that is 100% fraud,” he explained.
The new court documents accuse Ignacio of being the straw owner of the Liu and Chen farm, saying he’s listed as 75 percent owner “and subsequently turned over control of the farm to the 25% owner, an individual not eligible to obtain an OMMA License or OBN Registration on his own.”
Ignacio is said to have turned it over to YiFei Lin, a Chinese national.
Ignacio said in a written statement, “I would be on the license and get paid $2,000 a month for it.”
The court docs also cited Ignacio as saying he lent his name for six different Oklahoma marijuana farms, making over $100,000 over the last two years for doing so.
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