Co-owners of more than 100 smoke shops in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana face charges of cannabis trafficking and racketeering for their allegedly legal sales of THC-containing products.
Butler County Common Pleas Court charged two West Chester individuals, Ismail Sharida, 38, and Wael Sharaydeh, 55, on Tuesday. Both are US citizens who own VIP Smoke Shop sites throughout the region. The men also have connections to wholesale distributors of hemp-related products.
Rich Goldberg, an attorney who represented the men on Tuesday, said the allegations stem from a 20-month investigation. Last year, the brothers and many family members filed a federal lawsuit against multiple police agencies in response to the inquiry. Among their targets was the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, which, according to court filings, conducted raids on several of the businesses, at least one warehouse, and both men’s houses.
Goldberg stated in court that the inquiry focused on the selling of vaping devices and whether they contained “too much THC,” a psychotropic chemical element found in marijuana and other products.
According to Goldberg, there will be a dispute over the amount of THC and the charges.
He declined to say further following the session.
Magistrate Matt Reed set the bond for Sharida and Sharaydeh at $250,000. The Butler County Jail has been holding them since their surrender on Monday.
Drew Wood, a special prosecutor of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, is overseeing the case. He directed queries to an agency representative.
Sharida and Sharaydeh face a total of 60 counts. Each faces 25 counts of trafficking in unlawful cannabis-related substances, one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt action, and additional offenses.
Lawsuit: Brothers were selling legal hemp products
In June 2023, the family filed a lawsuit in federal court in Cincinnati, seeking the restitution of property and money confiscated during the inquiry. Congress legalized hemp products in 2018, and the lawsuit seeks to defend the brothers’ rights to market them.
According to the lawsuit, cannabis products sold in smoke shops, such as “Delta-8” and “Delta-10,” have been regarded as lawful since 2019 if the cannabis is derived from hemp and contains less than a specific level of THC.
According to the lawsuit, small firms in Ohio, including those controlled by the brothers, have grown in recent years by selling goods containing “hemp-derived cannabinoids.”
According to the report, Ohio “is woefully behind the rest of the country in its ability to accurately conduct lab tests to differentiate between illegal and legal products.”
According to the lawsuit, law enforcement performed at least 20 raids and seized $500,000 in items by June 2023.
We have scheduled the next court hearing for November 5.
