Federal Indictment Points to Maine Business as Landlords to Chinese Drug Cartel
The federal indictment from the District of Massachusetts claims that alleged Chinese human traffickers made payments to a Maine small business tied to a property in Maine.
A Maine excavation business appears to have rented property to a Chinese drug cartel that the U.S. Justice Department alleges engaged in human trafficking to profit from illicitly grown cannabis, according to an indictment filed in Massachusetts District Court last week.
Filed by U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley, the indictment includes evidence that seven Chinese nationals operated a human trafficking and drug trafficking network that included cannabis growing operations in Massachusetts and Maine.
Among the evidence listed in the indictment is a a record of a July 31, 2024 check from alleged ringleader Jianxiong Chen made payable in the amount of $10,800 to the 8 Ring Landing Corp.
That payment would have been chump change for Chen, who was living at a $1.5 million house, had a Porsche stuffed with cash, and many luxury items worth tens of thousands of dollars, according to the indictment.
Corporate and real estate records show that the 8 Ring Landing Corp. is a real estate holding company or front company operated by Ronald S. Willey and James N. Willey of Casco, ME.
Records show that 8 Ring Landing, Inc. owned property at 8 Ring Landing in Casco. Prior to a 2022 transfer, the property was formerly owned by RN Willey & Sons Excavation.
According to video obtained of the property, taken from a public right of way last week, two large buildings on the property are surrounded with heat pumps, electrical equipment, and other indicators that the property could have been used as a cannabis cultivation operation.
Electrical records obtained by the Maine Wire under Maine’s Freedom of Access Act show three listings for the 8 Ring Landing property, all related to the 2021 installation of commercial grade electrical panels, motors, and lighting — all also hallmarks of cannabis grows.
The point of contact listed for those electrical upgrades is Ron Willey, who provided a phone number that corresponds with RN Willey & Sons Excavation in Casco and Casco Car Wash, also in Casco.
A phone call placed to that number was answered by a receptionist, but Willey did not respond to a request for a phone interview.
It’s unclear how federal investigators obtained the check made out to 8 Ring Landing or whether it was ever cashed.
However, the indictment does allege that the funds the check was connected to were illegally obtained by Chen, as were the funds Chen allegedly deposited into the accounts of various law firms.
No Maine residents have been indicted as part of the criminal scheme allegedly run by Chen, and the indictment contains no direct allegation of criminal behavior on the part of Willey or his associates.
You can read more about allegations against Chen and his co-conspirators below.
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Again Thank You so much to the Maine Wire for your investigative work, and connecting the dots between Mass and Maine! No morals in either state with people in high places! I believe you may have mentioned Governor Mills brother being in on some of these illegal and questionable real estate deals? How much corruption has the state of Maine been exposed to with the Mills regime???
I think you are getting a bit over your skis here with the implication that the landlords were somehow involved in this scheme. It is not illegal to grow marijuana in Maine. It is not illegal to rent space out for such an operation. Everyone in the community knew it was a grow operation. From the outside it looked just like every other legal grow operation that has popped up in our communities. If anything about it was illegal, that was the responsibility of law enforcement to uncover, not the landlords. To imply that long-time Maine residents and business owners were involved in the conspiracy is quite a stretch. I hope you will walk that back in your next reporting.