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5 indicted in PHX for marijuana growing scheme

Posted at 4:49 AM, Apr 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-29 07:49:19-04

Five people are accused of falsely gaining medical marijuana grower status to illegally sell cannabis in Phoenix.

The Attorney General's Office says a state grand jury indicted the five men in Phoenix on Thursday.

Perry Hester, Brandon Hester, James Donaldson, and Christopher Rafferty are charged with giving fraudulent information to to gain status as medical marijuana caregivers.

A fifth, Christopher Martin, is charged with allegedly transporting money and marijuana for sale.

It was not immediately known if they had attorneys.

According to the indictment, the defendants are accused of giving false patient addresses in remote areas in the state.

They then cultivated plans and sold them out of a warehouse in south Phoenix.

Investigators say they seized more than 550 marijuana plants and at least 20 pounds of harvested marijuana.