Woman Helped Run $14M Pot Ring With 25-Person Sales Team: Feds

FOXBOROUGH, MA — A Boston woman admitted she helped manage a $14 million marijuana ring that was caught distributing more than 100 kilograms of the drug across Foxborough, Canton, Milton and Hyde Park.

Tatiana Fridkes, 34, of Dorchester, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to conspiring to distribute more than 1oo kilograms of marijuana. Deana Martin, 52, of Milton, has also been indicted, but has pleaded not guilty to possessing more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and three counts of money laundering.

According to court documents, Martin owned and managed Northern Herb between 2015 and 2018. The business was a website offering to sell and deliver raw marijuana, pre-rolled joints, and edibles. Prosecutors said the company claimed to only provide medical marijuana, but did not require a customer to show their medical card.

Prosecutors said Fridkes served as Martin's office manager. Fridkes coordinated with Martin on finances, marijuana suppliers, marijuana inventory, deliveries, workers and warehouse operations, prosecutors said. According to court documents, Fridkes managed Northern Herb employees when Martin was not around, collected and organized cash from marijuana sales and paid cash wages to Northern Herb employees.

Prosecutors further argued Northern Herb delivered marijuana to people's front doors and hallways, where unknown third parties might have access to it. Northern Herb also employed at least 25 workers. According to court documents, Martin set up an employee incentive-based program for sales. For example, prosecutors said Martin would reward her employees with incentives for selling more than 10 pounds of marijuana per month.

From May 2016 through July 2018, Northern Herb had total revenue exceeding $14 million, and Martin herself claimed an income of $80,000 per month, court documents said. Martin controlled numerous bank accounts into which money was laundered, prosecutors said. Court documents said she also used several accounts in another person's name to conceal her control over this money and to hide it from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Martin used money from Northern Herb sales to pay more than $300,000 towards the mortgage on her house and to buy a 2017 Porsche Boxster, prosecutors said.

Court documents said Northern Herb did not withhold or pay taxes on its millions of dollars in marijuana sales.

Fridkes faces a sentence of five to 40 years in prison, a minimum of four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. If convicted, Martin faces that same sentence.