SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA – An attorney who engaged in a conspiracy that let the owner of a chain of marijuana stores hide some of his marijuana income has pleaded guilty to federal financial offenses, officials said.
Attorney Richard C. Brizendine, 59, of Long Beach, admitted Monday to guilty to two counts: money laundering and conspiracy to structure cash deposits to avoid federal reporting requirements, officials said.
He will be sentenced in May and is facing up to 10 years in prison, according to officials. Brizendine is free on $500,000 bond, according to authorities.
Brizendine was an attorney for John Melvin Walker, who operated marijuana stores across Los Angeles and Orange counties and generated approximately $25 million in income over a six-year period. Brizendine conspired with Walker and others to accept cash from the marijuana operation and invest the funds into several corporations, prosecutors stated.
According to court documents, Brizendine agreed to accept more than $10,000 in cash and then make smaller deposits into different bank accounts so as to not trigger federal requirements that financial institutions report currency transactions of more than $10,000.
By pleading guilty, Brizendine specifically admitted that he structured approximately $389,700 for Walker, prosecutors stated.
Last year, prosecutors stated that Walker was sentenced to nearly 22 years in federal prison for operating a chain of marijuana and failing to reporter millions of dollars in revenues was on his taxes.