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Beverly Hills fraudster admits guilt in $18 million marijuana scheme
A notorious Beverly Hills scammer has once again found himself in hot water after pleading guilty to a staggering $18 million cannabis con. Mark Roy Anderson, 69, confessed to defrauding investors through a complex web of lies and deceit, all while still serving time for a previous criminal conviction.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Anderson tricked unsuspecting victims with bogus claims about owning hemp farms, producing cannabis-infused products, and operating a fake bottling business. This elaborate scheme was just the latest in a long line of fraudulent activities dating back thirty years.
Despite his checkered past, Anderson wasted no time in launching his latest scam immediately following his release from federal prison in 2019. Under the guise of a company called Harvest Farm Group, he persuaded investors to pour money into a non-existent hemp farm in Kern County. False promises of high returns on CBD isolate and Delta 8 products lured investors in, only to leave them empty-handed.
But Anderson’s deception didn’t stop there. From 2020 to 2023, he continued his fraudulent activities by soliciting funds for Bio Pharma and Verta Bottling companies, claiming they were legitimate businesses with substantial assets. In reality, Anderson used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of a million-dollar estate in Ojai and splurging on luxury cars, private jet flights, and high-end merchandise.
Now, facing the consequences of his actions, Anderson has agreed to forfeit his ill-gotten gains, including expensive cars and real estate. With a federal court hearing scheduled for August 23, the disgraced former lawyer could be looking at a maximum sentence of 20 years for each count of wire fraud.
As details of Anderson’s elaborate con continue to emerge, it serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of trusting individuals with a history of deception. Investors and consumers alike must remain vigilant and conduct thorough due diligence before parting with their hard-earned money.
It is a cautionary tale that reinforces the importance of thorough investigation and vetting of individuals and companies in the ever-evolving cannabis industry. Hopefully, justice will be served, and the victims of Anderson’s elaborate scheme will see some form of restitution for their losses.
Former Times staff writer Michael Finnegan contributed to this report.
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Further Support for Gravitational Wave Background in the Universe
The discovery of the gravitational wave background in 2016 marked a significant milestone in our understanding of the Universe. This groundbreaking discovery was further validated by the release of a second data set from the European Pulsar Timing Array, along with the addition of data from the Indian Pulsar Timing Array. These complementary studies have provided more evidence for the existence of the gravitational wave background, shedding light on the cosmic phenomena that shape our universe.
Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime that are generated by violent processes such as merging black holes and colliding neutron stars. Predicted by Einstein in 1916 as part of his General Theory of Relativity, these waves have the ability to travel through space, largely unimpeded by any obstacles in their path. The first detection of gravitational waves in 2015 by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) confirmed their existence, originating from a gravitational merger between two black holes located 1.3 billion light years away.
The recent confirmation of the gravitational wave background by the European and Indian Pulsar Timing Arrays indicates that we are detecting a combined signal from the mergers of supermassive black holes. This random distribution of gravity waves that permeates the Universe offers a new avenue for studying the cosmos, akin to the Cosmic Background Radiation. The collaborative efforts of various observatories and research institutions have enabled us to delve deeper into the mysteries of the Universe.
Utilizing pulsar timing arrays as galaxy-sized detectors, researchers have been able to monitor and analyze the pulse arrival times of galactic pulsars on Earth. By detecting subtle patterns in these signals, they can uncover the presence of the gravitational wave background. The latest study led by J. Antoniadis from the Institute of Astrophysics in Greece delves into the implications of the low-frequency signals observed in the recent data releases from various pulsar timing array systems.
The accumulation of data from multiple sources has provided undeniable evidence for the existence of the gravitational wave background. With ongoing Pulsar Timing Array projects, the signals of the low-frequency gravity waves will become more distinct, offering a wealth of opportunities to explore the Universe in this novel way. The focus now shifts towards interpreting these signals to unlock the secrets of the cosmos.
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