TLDR
- Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas, who calls herself the “Casino Queen,” has been indicted on federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
- Prosecutors say two CBD stores linked to Lucas sold unlicensed marijuana and laundered the money.
- The alleged enterprise earned about $4.5 million over five years, according to the Justice Department.
- Lucas faces five counts and could face decades in prison if convicted on all of them.
- Lucas denies wrongdoing and calls the case politically and racially motivated.
Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas has been indicted on federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges. The Portsmouth Democrat calls herself the state’s “Casino Queen.”
Lucas, 82, is president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate. She also chairs the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
In 2020, she led legislation that allowed commercial casinos in certain Virginia cities. The law permitted slot machines and table games, including in her hometown of Portsmouth.
The Department of Justice now alleges that Lucas led a criminal enterprise in recent years. Prosecutors say she worked with family members and associates in a racketeering conspiracy tied to marijuana sales.
What Prosecutors Allege
FBI Director Kash Patel said the group used Lucas’s committee role to protect the business. He said this shielded the operation from criminal scrutiny and influenced legislation for the group’s own financial gain.
The indictment says the enterprise brought in about $4.5 million over five years.
Two businesses are named in the case. They are The Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth and The CBD Shoppe in Norfolk.
As CBD shops, the stores could only legally sell hemp products with 0.3% THC or less by dry weight. THC is the compound in cannabis that produces a high. Neither store held a medical marijuana license.
Prosecutors say the shops sold medical-grade marijuana while presenting it as CBD hemp. According to the indictment, Lucas’s daughter, Lisa Lucas-Burke, told an undercover federal agent, “It’s not hemp. It’s THC.”
Products bought by undercover agents were labeled as “Sativa” and “Indica” strains. The indictment says they tested above the 0.3% THC limit.
Federal agents raided both stores. They seized marijuana and firearms at each location.
The Charges and Lucas’s Response
Lucas faces five counts. They include racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, and conspiracy to launder money.
She is also charged with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and maintaining a drug-involved premises. If convicted on all counts, she could face decades in prison.
Lucas denies the charges. She called the case a politically and racially motivated witch-hunt.
“The FBI, the Department of Justice, and the full weight of the federal government have been wielded against an 82-year-old great-grandmother,” Lucas said in a statement.
She added that she grew up under Jim Crow and has spent her life fighting back. Lucas said she is “not new to this” and “will not be intimidated.”
As of October 22, an arraignment date had not been reported. It is also not yet known whether Lucas will step back from her Senate leadership role while the case moves forward.
