Nederland marijuana business ordered to cease investment solicitations

NEDERLAND — The Colorado securities commissioner on Thursday ordered John W. Long Jr. of Nederland along with his businesses, Green Farms Consulting LLC and Green Farms Holdings LLC, to stop soliciting investment funds for the marijuana businesses.

Commissioner Gerald Rome issued the cease-and-desist order because the funds were being solicited by an unlicensed representative, and the securities were neither registered nor exempt from registration with the state’s division of securities.

According to documents from the division, Green Farms offered an investment opportunity on Craigslist for at least one month in the summer of 2016. The posted ad presented an offering for “accredited investors” that solicited investments of $1 million for shares in the Colorado recreational and medical marijuana business.

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An investigation found that at least one person responded to the ad, and was then provided with documents that sought a minimum $50,000 investment for shares in Green Farms worth $1 each. A promissory note provided with the documents promised an interest rate of 10 percent per year with a return of principal within two years.

“The presence of a new, popular, and seemingly lucrative industry like marijuana can be very tempting for investors looking to earn lots of money quickly,” Rome said. “But along with these offerings comes an extreme risk that is made even more intense based on the fact that we have seen multiple unregistered offerings pop up on sites like Craigslist in the last few years.”