Adult film star Chris Bines was just slapped with a 59 month prison sentence.
His crime? Selling pot.
31-year-old Bines, whose real name is Steven Michael Sholly, has worked with Falcon Studios, Men.com, and Randy Blue. He was convicted of marijuana trafficking and money laundering last October and sentenced, along with four others, last week.
The courts found that from January 2014 to June 2017, the group apparently conspired to sell 100kg of weed in Florida. Bines shipped the packages from California to Florida then sold the marijuana in Florida with the help of the others.
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Related: Gay adult star pleads guilty to conspiring to sell $1 million worth of marijuana
The money was then laundered through bank accounts and mailed to addresses in California. Over $3.5 million in cash was laundered over the course of three and a half years.
Bines was sentenced to four years and 11 months behind bars for his crime. It is not known where he will serve his time.
According to the DOJ:
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
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Smith David
This is a joke right? They need to stop wasting tax payer money on foolishness like this. Our judicial system needs a serious over haul.
ChrisK
The judge is actually being very lenient. 5 years is the absolute minimum sentence.
ChrisK
Oh and lastly he could get five years on just the money laundering and tax evasion alone.
Vince
We need to change the marijuana laws in this country. I live in California and weed is Big Business and doesn’t hurt anyone.
However he still broke the law. He made that kind of crazy money because it’s illegal. If he wanted to play safe he would have stayed in California and sold it so fuck him.
ChrisK
Well if he wanted to not get five years he could’ve stayed in California and sold it but no. He wanted to make the crazy money.
I’m all about pot legalization. However you got to play by the rules. Maybe he should have spent his time working to get the rules changed but then he won’t be making millions in a short amount of time either.
Juanjo
True, he did violate the existing federal laws and did so spectacularly. That said it is absurd that sales of marijuana are treated the same as sales of heroin, both being schedule one drugs.
mhoffman953
Maybe the sentence was high considering the $3.5 million in money laundering from drug sales
He could’ve just opened up some type of store in a state that legalizes it
Vince
Playing by the rules won’t make you that kind of money either. I can see why he did it though. It’s like a risk vs reward factor and 3.5 million is a pretty big reward.
Vince
Another thing is this would not be possible in States like Washington where it’s legal but you can only buy a certain amount for personal use.
Aromaeus
At least they’re locking up white guys for it now although they still aren’t getting the kind of sentences my people get.
Cylest Brooks
I was just reading a study the other day that said the arrest ratios are the same whether the state has legalized cannabis or not. Black folk are 3.7 times as likely to be arrested, even in states where it’s legal. It’s the same game… they just arrest them for quantity now, instead of just for possession.
Makes me want to bash my head against a wall.
Mark
He did the crime by not reporting the money to the IRS most likely…
chris33133
Isn’t that what they got Al Capone for? Tax evasion???
chris33133
Whether legal or not, marijuana needs to be decriminalized and everyone whose ONLY charges revolve around possession and/or dealing of weed (note: I am not including other drugs in this post) should have their sentences vacated and their rights completely restored. ….. This whole thing is akin to decriminalizing sodomy and inter-racial marriage. These “crimes” are intended mainly to keep “undesirables” policed and/or to feed the voracious monied interests that jail people. Their harms seriously outweigh their benefits.
Cylest Brooks
Agreed.
JK 1984
Weed should be legal, but until it is legal then you have to be prepared to do the time if you get caught.
Then there is the money laundering and tax evasion, which admittedly would likely not have happened if he was selling weed in states where it is legal or was selling something else non-weed related in Florida, e.g. girl scout cookies.
So yes, I think that getting locked up for selling weed is a waste of time, but five years (probably out in 2 years due to prison overcrowding) is not as bad as he could have gotten.
Giuseppe
This is likely about the money laundering and tax evasion…something Trump will soon discover.
Jacques
Can you imagine the wasted money, taxpayers money, all for selling weed? They are getting ridiculous in the states. They have so many either problems that could easily use this money more productively. Shame on the government to waste this money.
Cylest Brooks
It goes so much deeper than that. The criminalization of cannabis in America is nothing short of institutionalized racism. It’s not just a matter of wasted tax dollars… it’s a matter of actual black and brown lives that were lost to prison sentences, and families that were torn apart and destroyed so that *some people* could perpetuate lies and falsehoods about black people.
It’s pretty disgusting. “Shame on the government” is no lie.
Me2
He must’ve had a GREAT attorney or gave up some good information to the FEDS. Because 5 years for drug trafficking, tax evasion, and money laundering is very lenient. That being said, I don’t feel bad for him at all. If you’re wiling to violate the law for a big pay out, you have to also be willing to accept the consequences of a loss.