BARRE — Prosecutors are mulling an appeal to the state’s top court after a judge downgraded the most serious charge against a Waterbury CBD businessman accused of ripping off hemp farmers.
Douglas Bell, owner of CBD-Vermont in Waterbury, is accused of contracting with farms and then not paying for their services. At an arraignment Thursday, Bell was charged with bad check and false pretenses counts, to which he pleaded not guilty.
But prosecutors struggled to land their most serious charge against Bell — theft of services. A judge said there was a lack of evidence and statutory merit to bring the charge forward, leaving Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault considering an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Bell was arrested Wednesday night, and is being held on $100,000 bail.
Five of the Vermont farms are located in Washington and Lamoille counties — Ananda Gardens, Cate Farm, Knoll Farm, Zach Woods Herb Farm and Lisa and Ryan Mase, according to the Vermont State Police. Police say Bell owes 10 more farmers money for hemp harvests. The 15 victims have suffered cumulative losses of $500,000, police said in a press release.
Superior Court Judge Mary Morrissey told State’s Attorney Rory Thibault that he didn’t provide enough evidence to prove that at the time Bell entered into contracts with the farmers Bell “knowingly” couldn’t pay for their services, a specificity written into the theft of services state statute. Instead, Morrissey upheld breach of contract charges against Bell, which would be handled in civil court.
Thibault fought Morrissey’s determination, saying that Bell’s contracts with farmers had multiple performance benchmarks the farmers had to meet, giving Bell ample opportunity to disclose that he did not have the funds to pay them.
Thibault said the state would be appealing the court’s decision to charge Bell with breach of contract instead of the more consequential theft of service charge to the Vermont Supreme Court.
“This seems to be a gross injustice and misapplication of statute,” Thibault said.
Thibault hopes the appeal also could bring attention to holes in Vermont’s theft of services statute.
“Vermont also seems to have a lack of significant legislation or statutory authority to criminalize what is effectively white collar crime in this situation,” Thibault said.
The high bail was determined by concerns that Bell may flee the state if released. When police took him into custody, they found a packed bag in his car, Thibault told Morrissey, indicating Bell may have planned to leave the state. Thibault said Bell also has associates in Maine, a bank account in Maine and has visited the state recently, also indicating he had a place to flee to.
His next court date is scheduled for Feb. 24, at 2 p.m.
Multiple farmers and CBD suppliers told VTDigger earlier this month that Bell had not paid them what they were owed.
Bell’s CBD-Vermont shop on Route 100 was ordered closed Dec. 3 by a Vermont Labor Department office for failing to provide the state with a workers’ compensation insurance plan. After it closed, a number of contractors doing business with Bell came forward with accusations that Bell did not pay them or provided checks that bounced.
Bruce Kaufman, owner of Hardwick-based Riverside Farm, said Bell had contracted with him to grow two acres of hemp, with more than 2,100 plants.
Kaufman said Bell never came to harvest the hemp, and the farm had to destroy the crop in order to be able to use the land again next season. Kaufman told VTDigger he is owed about $50,000.
Others said Bell had delayed payments or that checks he had given them had bounced.
