Drug Trafficker Who Tried To Hide Behind State Medical Marijuana Law Sentenced To Prison
SEATTLE - The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary that billed itself as a ‘cooperative’ when it really was just a for-profit drug dealing enterprise, was sentenced today to six years in prison and four years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Craig Douglas Dieffenbach, 61, an owner of Seattle Cannabis Cooperative with locations in the Rainier Valley and Greenwood, pleaded guilty in August 2012.
"Marijuana traffickers continue to have a stranglehold on this state,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Matthew G. Barnes. "DEA will continue to do what it can to loosen their grip.”
According to records filed in the case, Dieffenbach admitted operating the marijuana stores for profit and selling pound quantities of marijuana to people who presented no medical authorization card. In her plea agreement, his co-defendant and co-owner Jing Jing Mo admitted offering to sell 25 pounds of marijuana for distribution across the country. The couple also admitted laundering funds from the sale of marijuana to pay to modify homes for marijuana production. The pair were tied in to other drug traffickers including one distributing substantial amounts of ecstasy. Jing Jing Mo, 31, will be sentenced next month.
This investigation is part of an ongoing strategy of the DEA Seattle Field Division to combat marijuana trafficking.
