center> United States of America v. Antonio Irving Benjamin

Antonio Irving Benjamin, age 53 and a resident of Salem, Oregon, was sentenced to 144 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and conspiracy to launder the proceeds. He also agreed to forfeit assets worth more than $2 million dollars.



According to court documents, Benjamin and a previously convicted co-conspirator named Jered Hayward operated a large-scale illegal THC and psilocybin production and distribution facility headquartered in Salem, Oregon. Benjamin supervised the operations and managed a number of employees who obtained cereal and candy products and infused or sprayed potent THC oils on them. They then inserted the edibles into packages which mimicked legitimate consumer food products and sold them throughout the United States and internationally. While there was no evidence Benjamin deliberately targeted minors, the manner in which his organization packaged the edibles posed a risk to children, who are often unable to comprehend the fine print warnings that the packages contained THC products.



Benjamin's organization utilized encrypted communications such as Telegram to market, sell and process orders, and straw businesses to mask money laundering transactions. Benjamin had no permits or licenses to produce or sell these products; the entire operation was illegal.



This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Portland Police Bureau, United States Postal Inspection, Oregon State Police, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Salem Police Department and the Washington County Sheriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Kemp Strickland and Christopher Cardani, Assistant United States Attorneys for the District of Oregon.