Three months after federal authorities seized its bank account in a probe of alleged concealment of medical marijuana proceeds, a Sacramento dispensary announced Thursday it will close its doors on New Year's Eve.
The One Love Wellness Center, a 7,000-square-foot dispensary on El Camino Avenue near Business 80, was one of 38 dispensaries allowed to apply to stay in business by the city under a local medical marijuana ordinance passed by the City Council.
But the dispensary attracted the attention of federal authorities in September when officials obtained a warrant to seize its bank account. A U.S. Treasury Department criminal task force alleged the dispensary structured $102,713 in deposits in small amounts to skirt rules requiring that financial establishments report all deposits of $10,000 or more to the Internal Revenue Service.
No charges have been filed since U.S. Magistrate Gregory G. Hollows approved a warrant to seize more than $80,000 from the dispensary's account. But the dispensary has faced additional pressure as Sacramento U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner sent out a notice threatening One Love's landlord with seizure of its property if marijuana sales continued on site.
"They have asked me to close down and ... I think I have to," said Lino Catabran, the dispensary's founder. "The threat is huge."
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