A cannabis investor lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County accuses a local attorney and his business partner of using $750,000 in investor funds to cover personal expenses rather than to stage promised business-to-consumer cannabis trade shows, including the ill-fated Green Street Festival in 2022.
According to a complaint submitted Oct. 19, investor Jamie Chisick alleges that attorney Joshua Shelton of the Winston Wolfe Law Firm and his business partner, Rama Mayo, accepted the funds in exchange for a 15 percent stake in the Green Street Symposium. The filing states the pair, described as cannabis entrepreneurs, pledged to mount large-scale events expected to draw thousands of attendees and generate substantial revenue.
Cannabis investor lawsuit details alleged misuse
Court filings assert that Shelton and Mayo represented that the events would attract significant crowds and produce “millions of dollars in revenue.” Chisick says documents he obtained indicate his capital was diverted to personal uses, including private jet travel, health insurance, bar dues for Shelton, and other overhead unrelated to Green Street Symposium operations.
The complaint cites financial results from the 2022 Green Street Festival, which reportedly generated about $190,000 in revenue, with approximately $178,000 refunded. A subsequent 2023 festival, forecast to draw more than 10,000 attendees and as much as $4.7 million in revenue, drew a smaller turnout and did not turn a profit.
Chisick is seeking to recover his $750,000 investment along with punitive damages, according to the complaint. Similar legal questions about alleged financial misconduct have surfaced in other recent cases, including when an ISIS training conviction was secured in Brooklyn federal court.