2 Tulsa Co. Residents, Third Suspect Charged In Conspiracy To Defraud State Through Use Of Illegal Grow Operations

The Oklahoma Multi-County Grand Jury has charged two Oklahomans residents, along with another individual, in an alleged conspiracy to defraud the state involving illegal marijuana operations.

In an investigation combining the efforts of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, court documents say Kody Sumter, 34, recruited Oklahoma residents to serve as “straw owners” on licenses and registrations of medical marijuana grow businesses.

In addition to Sumter, the grand jury also indicted Michael Dudek, 35, and Dengfeng Huang, 44.

According to the indictment, Sumter paid Dudek to be a straw owner to a Seminole County marijuana grow operation and connected Dudek to a nonresident. In a separate instance, Sumter allegedly submitted fraudulent information to the State of Oklahoma claiming that he owned 75% of an Ada medical marijuana grow operation, with Huang owning the remaining 25%.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the work of the grand jury is part of a crackdown on illegal marijuana in the state.

“These cases illustrate how unscrupulous individuals have exploited Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry for nefarious and illegal criminal activity,” Drummond said. “While many individuals are lawfully abiding by the regulations governing medical marijuana, law enforcement is tirelessly cracking down on the bad actors who are feeding the nation’s illegal marijuana market."

Additionally, Drummond said "straw owner" schemes will not be tolerated in the state.

Sumter is charged with conspiracy to defraud the State of Oklahoma and aggravated manufacturing of a controlled dangerous substance.

Huang and Dudek are also both charged with conspiracy to defraud the State and the aggravated manufacturing of a controlled dangerous substance, but Huang alone is charged with the trafficking of a controlled dangerous substance in excess 25 pounds.