Biz behind Sec-State pot scandal gave big $$ to politicians

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

KOIN-TV did an excellent investigation on the contributions given by the marijuana business, La Mota, at the center of the Secretary of State pot scandal that forced her resignation.  The same business is also under fire for not paying millions of dollars in taxes.   In addition to paying the Secretary of State $10,000/month they also made political contributions to her as well as top liberal lawmakers and groups like Tina Kotek ($60,000+) and others that can be seen below:

La Mota is owned by Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares.

There is more to the story, follow it here.

We previously reported:

“The founders of La Mota, Oregon’s second-largest cannabis dispensary chain (32 shops), bankrolled Democrat candidates for state and local offices while failing to pay their bills and taxes, according to an investigation by Willamette Week.  The newspaper reported that Rosa Cazares hosted a fundraiser for Tina Kotek, who won her race for Oregon governor, in a Northwest hills mansion in Portland in May 2022.  Cazares hosted fundraisers for Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. But Willamette Week reported that Cazares and Mitchell rented the mansion from Vacasa founder Eric Breon, who sued the couple in Multnomah County Circuit Court twice for unpaid rent and damage to the home. In addition, the Oregon Department of Revenue issued more than $1.6 million in tax liens against the couple and La Mota, while at the federal level, the IRS placed liens on both Cazares and Mitchell alleging $1.4 million in nonpayment of personal income and employment taxes.”

This scandal follows a similar financial scandal involving illicit cryptocurrency fraud business FTX — which turned out to be a Ponzi Scheme and also criticized for donating under an incorrect name.

We previously reported,

“The Oregon Democrat Party’s largest ever contribution, $500,000, came from an executive with the FTX scandal. As you know, FTX was a cryptocurrency firm that ran a Ponzi scheme.  It blew other people’s money on properties in the Bahamas and other such antics. This firm was the second largest donor to Democrat candidates (second to billionaire George Soros) in 2022.Right now, the Oregon Democrat Party is not returning the funds.Other groups are returning the contributions.  Politico reports, “The FTX scandal is prompting lawmakers from both parties to symbolically give up campaign contributions from the crypto exchange’s top executives, underscoring the firm’s political toxicity in the aftermath of its collapse.Campaigns for Reps. Chuy García (D-Ill.) and Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) have given local charities money equal to the amount they received from FTX leaders, according to their spokespeople.”Willamette Week has more.”