Email Scam Costs MariMed Cannabis Operator Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars

Cannabis multistate operator MariMed Inc. MRMD MRMD transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to an unauthorized recipient due to an email that turned out to be forged, reported Marijuana Business Daily’s Solomon Israel citing the company's recent quarterly report filed with U.S. securities regulators.

Howard Schacter, the chief communications officer of the Massachusetts-based company with operations throughout five states told the news outlet that the fraudulent activities took place over several months. It cost the company $646,000.

“This was a very sophisticated, global fraud that we believe took months of planning and we have been working with the FBI and local police during their investigations,” Schacter said in an emailed statement to MJBizDaily. “This should serve as a cautionary tale to any company, including those like MariMed that operate at the highest standard of financial discipline and governance.”

See also: Rising Star Among Cannabis Companies: Why MariMed Deserves Your Attention

According to the company’s 10-Q form for the third quarter of 2023, which ended Sept. 30, the transfer was in connection with payment on a term loan. The filing further stipulates that they were transferred to a Chase Bank JPM account that was given in a falsified email the company received.

The company said the investigation conducted by Chase is ”still ongoing, and the bank has since indicated that the funds were delivered to the fraudulent recipient’s account.”

Additionally, MariMed submitted a claim for its corporate cybersecurity insurance.

The company said that it would reverse the expense if the money is recovered either from the bank or through an insurance claim.

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MariMed’s shares traded 1.8145% higher at $0.3030 per share at the time of writing on Wednesday.

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