Lucas Sirois, 45, and his father, Robert Sirois, 71, both from Farmington, Maine, were found guilty on November 18 in U.S. District Court in Bangor on multiple charges related to a long-running conspiracy to grow and distribute large amounts of marijuana. The jury returned its verdict after a five-day trial.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Lucas Sirois led a scheme from at least 2016 through July 2020 to cultivate and distribute over 8,000 kilograms of marijuana from one of several industrial growing sites he operated using corporate shell companies Lakemont LLC, Sandy River Properties LLC, and Spruce Valley LLC. Each company was convicted of operating a drug premises.
Robert Sirois was also found guilty for his role at the cultivation facility known as the Shoe Shop at 374 High Street in Farmington. Testimony indicated that this location produced about 50 pounds of marijuana per week throughout the period covered by the conspiracy.
Five co-conspirators testified during the trial, including four cooperating defendants and one witness granted immunity. One cooperating defendant stated that for three years he purchased more than 30 pounds of marijuana per week from Lucas Sirois for prices between $900 and $1,500 per pound and supplied it to mid-level dealers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Lucas Sirois was also convicted on two counts of tax fraud and one count of bank fraud. Kenneth Allen, his tax preparer who previously pleaded guilty to tax fraud for his involvement in the conspiracy, testified that he created false transactions among Sirois’s companies under Lucas’s direction to eliminate over $400,000 in federal taxes owed for 2017 and 2018. Other witnesses said Lucas Sirois lied to a local credit union about his business activities when opening accounts there; millions of dollars from marijuana sales passed through those accounts during the operation.
Robert Sirois was acquitted on one charge related to possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
Lucas Sirois faces a minimum sentence of ten years up to life imprisonment and a fine up to $10 million. Robert Sirois could receive up to twenty years in prison and be fined up to $1 million. Sentencing will occur after presentence investigative reports are completed by the U.S. Probation Office; a federal judge will decide their sentences based on guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case proceeded after an extended hearing regarding motions by the defendants seeking to stop prosecution, which included review by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. The courts found that Lucas and Robert Sirois had not proven they complied with Maine’s medical marijuana laws during the time period involved.
Several others have also been convicted federally for roles in this case: Randal Cousineau, Alisa Sirois, Brandon Dagnese, Kenneth Allen, former Rangeley Assemblyman David Burgess, former sheriff’s deputies Derreck Doucette and Bradley Scovil, and former prosecutor Kayla Alves (convicted in 2022 for destroying evidence).
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), IRS Criminal Investigation division, FBI as well as local and state partners.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation aimed at disrupting high-level drug traffickers using coordinated efforts among various law enforcement agencies across different levels.
