弗吉尼亚州参议院临时议长 Louise Lucas 被联邦起诉：被控领导家族大麻分销组织、五年涉案约450万美元
美国司法部10月22日宣布，联邦大陪审团在一份八项罪名的起诉书中起诉包括弗吉尼亚州参议员 Lillie Louise Lucas 在内的七名被告，指控各人在一个涉及大麻分销、洗钱、通过贿赂实施的诚实服务欺诈、维持涉毒场所、持枪助毒品贩运与电信欺诈的敲诈勒索共谋中各有角色。
现年82岁的 Lucas 住在 Portsmouth，1991年当选弗吉尼亚州参议员、1992年就任至今，2020年起任州参议院临时议长，现任参议院财政与拨款委员会主席，该委员会主管州预算、税收政策与州支出。起诉书称，Lucas 领导一个由亲近同伙与家人组成的组织「Lucas Enterprise」，成员包括她的两个女儿和一名孙子；她批准并指挥该组织的活动，包括安排获取与分销100公斤以上大麻，并监督大麻收益的洗钱。
联邦调查局（FBI）局长 Kash Patel 表示，该计划历时五年、涉案金额估计约450万美元，Lucas 被指利用财政与拨款委员会主席的职位为这一犯罪大麻企业提供庇护、使其免于刑事审查，并影响立法为组织牟利。司法部长 Todd Blanche 表示，Lucas 在弗吉尼亚州身居公职逾三十年，起诉书所指的行为是把个人经济利益置于选民之前。弗吉尼亚东区第一助理联邦检察官 Theophani K. Stamos 表示，公职是信任职位，绝不应被滥用于谋取私利。
起诉书还称，同案被告 Carlton Upton Jr.（54岁，住 Chesapeake）自2019年起是 Lucas 在 VA Freedom Life 的生意伙伴，该公司是 The CBD Shoppe 与 The Cannabis Outlet 的母体；Upton 被指在2020年4月为该公司一笔11,800美元的经济伤害灾难贷款申请中作虚假陈述。2021年，Lucas 与女儿 Lisa Lucas-Burke 在 Portsmouth 开设 The Cannabis Outlet；另一名女儿 Theresa Lucas-Lamb 与其子 Ryan Eichelberger 被指负责获取大麻、监督分销并管理该店。2022年8月，Lucas 被指支付75万美元买下一家空壳控股公司的全部股权，该公司关联一名同谋预期获得的弗吉尼亚州娱乐大麻牌照，而她未在法定经济利益申报表上披露这项权益。
今年5月6日，FBI 对 The Cannabis Outlet 与 The CBD Shoppe 执行联邦搜查令，在两处均查获大麻与枪支。据美联社报道，Lucas 已于周四上午向当局自首。司法部表示，起诉书仅为指控，全部被告在法庭以排除合理怀疑的标准证明有罪之前均推定无罪。起诉书另列同案被告 Prince Albert Williamson Hudson III 与 Tameka Johnson，并称 Lucas 在支付75万美元购买上述权益后，其后要求并接受了10万美元的部分偿还。Lucas 原定10月22日当天下午在 Norfolk 联邦法院首次出庭。她在社交平台发表声明称：「我在吉姆·克劳时代长大，见过掌权者如何试图让站出来反对的人噤声。我一生都在反击，这次也不会停下。我不会被恐吓，不会被欺凌，也不会退缩。」Blanche 在记者会上另表示，对 Lucas 的调查已持续数年。
（GSM 据美国司法部官网报道）
Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas Indicted: Accused of Leading Family Marijuana Enterprise in Five-Year, $4.5 Million Scheme
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 22 that a federal grand jury has charged Virginia state senator Lillie Louise Lucas and six other defendants in an eight-count indictment alleging roles in a racketeering conspiracy involving marijuana distribution, money laundering, honest services fraud through bribery, maintaining drug-involved premises, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and wire fraud.
Lucas, 82, of Portsmouth, was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 1991 and has served since 1992. She has been the Senate's president pro tempore since 2020 and chairs the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, which handles the state budget, tax policy and state expenditures. According to the indictment, Lucas led a criminal enterprise, the 'Lucas Enterprise,' comprised of close associates and family members including her two daughters and a grandson; she allegedly approved and directed its activities, including arranging the acquisition and distribution of 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and supervising the laundering of the proceeds.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the scheme spanned five years and an estimated $4.5 million, and that Lucas allegedly used her position as Finance and Appropriations chairwoman to insulate the enterprise from criminal scrutiny and to influence legislation benefiting it. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Lucas had served in a position of public trust in Virginia for over three decades and that the charges allege she put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia said public office is a position of trust that should never be abused for personal gain.
The indictment also names Carlton Upton Jr., 54, of Chesapeake, Lucas's business partner in VA Freedom Life, the umbrella company for The CBD Shoppe and The Cannabis Outlet since 2019; Upton allegedly made false attestations on an April 2020 application for an $11,800 Economic Injury Disaster Loan. In 2021, Lucas and her daughter Lisa Lucas-Burke opened The Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth; another daughter, Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and her son Ryan Eichelberger allegedly acquired marijuana, supervised its distribution and managed the store. In August 2022, Lucas allegedly paid $750,000 for a 100 percent stake in a shell holding company tied to a co-conspirator's expected Virginia recreational marijuana license, and failed to report the interest on her required ethics filings.
On May 6, the FBI executed federal search warrants at The Cannabis Outlet and The CBD Shoppe, recovering marijuana and firearms at both locations. According to the Associated Press, Lucas surrendered to authorities on Thursday morning. The Justice Department notes that an indictment is merely an allegation and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The indictment also names Prince Albert Williamson Hudson III and Tameka Johnson as co-defendants, and alleges that Lucas later demanded and accepted a $100,000 partial repayment of the $750,000 stake. Lucas was due to make an initial appearance on the afternoon of October 22 in federal court in Norfolk. In a statement posted on social media, she said: 'I grew up under Jim Crow. I've seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up against them. I've spent my life fighting back, and I'm not stopping now. I will not be intimidated. I will not be bullied, and I will not back down.' Blanche also said the investigation into Lucas has been ongoing for several years. (GSM, based on the U.S. Department of Justice)
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：弗吉尼亚州议会大厦（Ron Cogswell 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）。Lucas 本人合规近照未查得，以其任职的州议会大厦实景为图。 / Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (Ron Cogswell, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
- 2026-10-22 07:57弗吉尼亚州参议院临时议长 Louise Lucas 被联邦起诉：被控领导家族大麻分销组织、五年涉案约450万美元本篇
- 2026-10-22 16:47跟进：弗吉尼亚州参议员 Louise Lucas 被联邦逮捕：同案共七名被告
