New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday secured a $6 million judgment against the owner of Big Chief Smoke Shop, an unlicensed cannabis store in Bay Ridge.
Big Chief sold cannabis for more than a year without a license and ignored repeated orders by the Office of Cannabis Management and other law enforcement authorities to stop operating without a license, according to a press release.
The Office of the Attorney General and OCM obtained a judicial closing order that shut down Big Chief in December 2023. This judgment requires Big Chief’s owner to pay nearly $5.9 million in penalties for selling cannabis without a license and continuing to do so after being ordered by OCM to stop, $121,000 in disgorgement of illegal profits and $44,000 in costs and attorney’s fees.
“Rules and regulations, especially over the cannabis industry, are designed to protect New York consumers and keep neighborhoods safe,” said James. “Big Chief Smoke Shop ignored repeated warnings to stop operating without a license and instead they kept their doors open, putting New Yorkers at risk."
City Council Member Justin Brannan said the store generated more complaints to his office in the one-plus year they were open, more than any other single legal or illegal establishment in his district since he took office in 2018.
“Beyond endangering their customers and our community by selling untaxed, unregulated and illegal products, they were bad neighbors who hosted illegal activity, frequently trashed the area outside their premises and blatantly mocked and provoked residents, elected officials and law enforcement in the press," he said.
That said, a December 2022 raid split the community at the time, as the city grappled with how to deal with unlicensed cannabis shops because the state's rollout of official licences were slow.
Big Chief had been selling cannabis without a license since at least since November 2022, according to James. In August 2023, OCM and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance investigators conducted an inspection of Big Chief, confirmed Big Chief was selling cannabis without a license, and seized more than 400 pounds of cannabis and cannabis products. At the inspection, OCM served Big Chief with an order to stop operating without a license and posted the violation, cease order, and warning notices informing the public of the dangers of illicit cannabis on the front windows of the store.
In a follow-up inspection in October 2023, OCM investigators observed that the violation, cease order, and warning documents OCM posted on the front windows of Big Chief were removed or covered over and that the store was still actively selling cannabis without a license. During the inspection, investigators seized more than 200 pounds of illicit cannabis and issued another violation notice and order to stop operating. OAG and OCM obtained a court order mandating the closure of Big Chief in December 2023.
