A man from Josephine County, Oregon, has been sentenced to federal prison for illegally manufacturing marijuana and falsifying tax returns. Steven Shirley, aged 52, received a sentence of 24 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Additionally, he was ordered to pay $290,291 in restitution to the IRS and $12,896 to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for environmental damage caused by marijuana cultivation on BLM land.
Court documents reveal that Shirley began purchasing properties in Cave Junction, Oregon in 2012 as president and minister of Earth Peoples Park (EPP), an Oregon nonprofit religious organization. He leased these properties to third parties and used the profits to acquire more land. By 2019, Shirley owned or co-owned 21 properties through EPP in Josephine County and earned at least $400,000 annually from property leases.
“We thank the dedicated law enforcement officers for their commitment to disrupt the defendant’s scheme that damaged public lands and circumvented his tax responsibilities,” stated Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
“Mr. Shirley tried to profit from the abuse of nonprofit exemptions and illegal drug operations,” said Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office. “Wednesday’s ruling acknowledges that he’s no spiritual leader.”
In September 2019, investigators from the Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team (JMET) identified large-scale unlicensed marijuana grows on sixteen properties. On October 1, 2019, law enforcement executed search warrants seizing over 15,000 marijuana plants and nine firearms while discovering BLM lands were utilized for these activities. Investigators found Shirley directed staff to grow and harvest marijuana illegally while also selling it.
On June 14, 2021, further investigations led by BLM agents with JMET's assistance resulted in search warrants executed on eleven EPP properties revealing continued illegal activities by Shirley involving both EPP-owned lands and BLM areas.
IRS agents reviewed EPP's tax-exempt status alongside Shirley's personal tax records from 2015-2018 during their investigation. They concluded that EPP did not qualify as a religious organization under IRS code since it functioned as a for-profit land management company—a non-exempt purpose—and discovered Shirley had underreported lease income by over $1 million resulting in unpaid taxes exceeding $290,000.
Shirley faced charges on August 2nd last year via criminal information concerning illegal marijuana manufacture alongside filing false tax returns; he pleaded guilty earlier this March.
The case involved investigative efforts from multiple agencies including BLM itself along with IRS Criminal Investigation Division plus JMET among others like Oregon State Police & Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force contributing too under prosecution led by Judith R Harper Assistant US Attorney representing District Of Oregon throughout proceedings accordingly thereafter culminating into today’s outcome ultimately finally now reached hereupon altogether conclusively so far thus far then indeed surely henceforth eventually thereby consequently ultimately thereinforth forthwith thereafter likewise subsequently correspondingly heretofore thenceforward thereof whereby thereto therefrom wherein whereinbefore hereinabove hereinafter notwithstanding nevertheless however albeit nonetheless meanwhile otherwise accordingly similarly respectively alternately instead therefore hence thus consequently ergo likewise further additionally moreover besides furthermore still yet also even 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