BOSTON (AP) — Sheriff in one of Massachusetts’ largest counties was charged Friday with allegedly pressured a Boston-based cannabis company to sell stocks in the company.
Sheriff Stephen Tompkins, 67, who oversees about 1,000 employees of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, faces two terrors. He was taken into custody in Florida and made his first appearance there. He will later appear in Boston Federal Court.
Mom finds sexual texts among Florida EMT, daughter: Sheriff
“Elected officials, especially law enforcement officials, are expected to be ethical, honest and law-abiding. “His alleged actions are a humiliation to voters and taxpayers who chose him for his position, as well as to many dedicated and honest civil servants of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office. The people of Suffolk County deserve better.”
No one from the Sheriff’s Office could contact him for comment, and Tompkins’ attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.
According to court documents, Tompkins initially pressured an unnamed company to shares as he was considering launching an early offer in 2020. According to the document, Tomkins fears it could undermine partnership with the Sheriff’s Department program, which introduced the released prisoners to work there. I was afraid of the risk of the company’s sales licence and the timing of the initial public offering.
In November 2020, Tompkins is said to have wired $50,000 to a company-managed account to manage stocks from its retirement account. After the initial public offering, the stock price rose significantly.
However, when it began to fall a year later, Tompkins claimed he had reclaimed his money, and despite the decline in the stock’s value, the company gave him a full refund. Among the evidence in the court documents was five checks written in Tompkins, and a note to pay off the loan.
Tompkins has previously violated the law. In 2023, Tompkins paid a $12,300 fine for violating the Conflict of Interest Act after asking his department to establish himself in his department and running personal errands for him.
If convicted of a fearful tor, Tompkins could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine at each count.
