Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins is facing extortion charges.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that the 67-year-old Tompkins was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of Extortion Under Color of Official Right and taken into custody this Friday morning in the Southern District of Florida.
According to court documents, in 2019, a cannabis company sought to open a retail cannabis dispensary in Boston and applied to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) for a dispensary license.
They entered into a partnership with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department to help screen and refer graduates of its re-entry program to apply for work at the retail store.
Tompkins allegedly requested stock, reminding the company that he had helped with their Boston licensing efforts.
He then paid $50,000 to purchase over 14,000 shares of stock that had appreciated to an approximate value of $138,403.
However, when the stock value declined Tompkins requested a full refund, which the company granted, even though the stock was worth less than that.
If convicted Tompkins could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.