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Palomar Mountain Marijuana Co. goes bust

Real estate agent falsely reports girlfriend's income as $420K/year

Marco Luis and Joshua Hester were longtime friends and business partners. "As a real estate agent, Luis had the know-how. As a career marijuana dealer, Hester had the cash," notes a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling on an issue that had been decided by U.S. District Court in San Diego. The decision was released August 28.

In 2006, Luis and Hester bought a Rancho Santa Fe home, where Hester raised pot in a secret room. Hester's girlfriend was the straw buyer. Luis falsely stated she earned $420,000 a year as a self-employed businesswoman. The following year, Luis and Hester bought acreage on Palomar Mountain, where Hester intended to grow marijuana. This time, the straw buyer was a fellow who delivered marijuana to Hester's customers. Luis claimed on the paperwork that the deliveryman was in the auto business.

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By 2009, both properties were in default. Luis, Hester, his girlfriend, and his pot deliveryman all were charged criminally. In 2012, Luis was sentenced to four years in prison for falsifying the loan documents. In 2013, Joshua got 100 months (more than eight years) for his marijuana, real estate, and money-laundering transgressions.

But the cases weren't over. Luis appealed the restitution that judge Irma Gonzalez ordered him to pay. In the decision of August 28, the appellate court upheld most of Gonzalez's order but said she had erred in calculating restitution to J.P. Morgan Chase, which had purchased one of the loans from Washington Mutual, the disgraced lender that was seized by the United States government in 2008. J.P. Morgan purchased Washington's banking operations after the seizure.

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Marco Luis and Joshua Hester were longtime friends and business partners. "As a real estate agent, Luis had the know-how. As a career marijuana dealer, Hester had the cash," notes a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling on an issue that had been decided by U.S. District Court in San Diego. The decision was released August 28.

In 2006, Luis and Hester bought a Rancho Santa Fe home, where Hester raised pot in a secret room. Hester's girlfriend was the straw buyer. Luis falsely stated she earned $420,000 a year as a self-employed businesswoman. The following year, Luis and Hester bought acreage on Palomar Mountain, where Hester intended to grow marijuana. This time, the straw buyer was a fellow who delivered marijuana to Hester's customers. Luis claimed on the paperwork that the deliveryman was in the auto business.

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By 2009, both properties were in default. Luis, Hester, his girlfriend, and his pot deliveryman all were charged criminally. In 2012, Luis was sentenced to four years in prison for falsifying the loan documents. In 2013, Joshua got 100 months (more than eight years) for his marijuana, real estate, and money-laundering transgressions.

But the cases weren't over. Luis appealed the restitution that judge Irma Gonzalez ordered him to pay. In the decision of August 28, the appellate court upheld most of Gonzalez's order but said she had erred in calculating restitution to J.P. Morgan Chase, which had purchased one of the loans from Washington Mutual, the disgraced lender that was seized by the United States government in 2008. J.P. Morgan purchased Washington's banking operations after the seizure.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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