Manish Patel (33), an Indian Attorney licensed in New Jersey and New York, is indicted in Granite Bay, CA by a federal grand jury on June 18, 2020 with conspiracy to transport marijuana and concentrated cannabis oil in his Learjet.
Manish Patel was charged with Marijuana offenses on August 15, 2019 in Granite Bay, CA by U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California.
Charges Against Manish Patel
The charges against Indian Attorney Manish Patel as per five-count grand jury indictment include:
- Conspiracy to distribute marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol or THC
- Possession with intent to distribute marijuana
- Possession with intent to distribute THC
According to the court documents & criminal complaint:
Patel is a licensed attorney in New Jersey (admitted in 2015) and New York (admitted in 2017).
…Patel conspired to transport marijuana and concentrated cannabis oil across the country using his private airplane, a Learjet. In May and June 2019, law enforcement in California executed search warrants that resulted in the seizure of approximately 1,400 pounds of marijuana contraband and $400,000 in cash.
One of the locations searched was a warehouse being used as a concentrated cannabis manufacturing laboratory, from which detectives seized over 980 pounds of processed marijuana and 88.27 pounds of concentrated cannabis. A second location searched was a Granite Bay mansion rented by Patel that contained processed marijuana, items commonly used to manufacture concentrated cannabis, and over $400,000 cash. In August 2018, the DEA interdicted Patel and several associates at an executive airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico and seized $80,000 in cash. When investigators searched the Learjet in June 2019, it contained 181.51 pounds of dried marijuana and 18.41 pounds of concentrated cannabis. The flight plan for the Learjet showed that it was scheduled to fly to Colorado, then Illinois, and then New Jersey.
Potential Penalty
If convicted, on the charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and THC and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, Manish Patel faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of up to 40 years in prison and a fine up to $5 million.
And on the charge of possession with intent to distribute THC, Manish Patel faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
The actual sentence would however be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indian attorney Manish Patel must be presumed innocent until and unless a court finds him guilty.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login