Lucas indictment describes marijuana licensing talks with unnamed Virginia lawmakers

RICHMOND, Va. (7News) — A day after one of Virginia’s top elected officials was indicted for leading a drug trafficking and money laundering enterprise, 7News is now digging into claims in the indictment that Virginia Senate President Louise Lucas discussed her alleged illegal multi-million-dollar drug operation with other Virginia lawmakers.

Lucas is facing five federal counts, including racketeering and fraud.

RELATED | Feds charge Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas, 6 others in marijuana racketeering scheme

Which other lawmakers did Lucas discuss her enterprise with?

That’s the question everyone is trying to answer. So far, no one has publicly confessed.

We may get to the bottom of this as the case moves through the courts. But this indictment states Lucas was using her influence as the Senate president to cash in on recreational marijuana retail sales.

According to the indictment, Lucas paid $750,000 in a 100% stake in Momma’s Chicken, LLC, in 2022. Momma’s Chicken was a shell holding company that Lucas and a co-conspirator expected to obtain a Virginia recreational marijuana license, but the agreement stipulated that if the LLC had not obtained a license, Lucas would get $525,000 back, the indictment states.

For years, Lucas pressed to get recreational retail marijuana passed—but then Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin would not allow it.

Lucas tried unsuccessfully to recover her money.

Then after last year’s election, when Democrats won the governor’s mansion and the House, Lucas knew recreational marijuana sales were back on the table.

After the election, according to the indictment, Lucas texted a co-conspirator, “You know I will be carrying the legislation as the Chief Co-patron. Yes, we can make a lot of money but before we start down that road again; how about we begin with you sending at least a good faith payment of the money you owe me with the arrangements for the balance. Then we can talk about future business plans.”

The indictment said Lucas called her co-conspirator to her state capitol office during Virginia’s legislative session this year. During that meeting, her co-conspirator gave Lucas a partial $100,000 payment from the FBI. Then Lucas called the Virginia Cannabis Association and the Virginia Beach Cannabis Task Force and informed them she and her co-conspirator were “back in the same tent again.”

A short time later, according to the indictment, Lucas called her co-conspirator and talked about the language of her bill and the possibility of him getting a marijuana license and sharing the proceeds with her because “this is our last chance at generational wealth.”

According to the indictment, Lucas called a lawmaker and informed them she needed to get the marijuana license because she wanted to create generational wealth.

Then she called another lawmaker. According to the indictment, that lawmaker said the cannabis legislation would make sure “everything is on the up and up,” to which Lucas responded: and make it legal because when she did it, it was obviously illegal.

RELATED | FBI raids offices linked to Virginia State Sen. Louise Lucas in Portsmouth

The indictment said Lucas was already illegally selling marijuana—with millions in profit. The indictment stated that Lucas called other lawmakers and explained she was trying to disqualify someone from getting a marijuana license until he paid her money back.

The indictment also said that Lucas asked for samples of marijuana flowers so she could try them during a meeting at her district office where she discussed their sources of supply for marijuana. In that meeting, according to the indictment, Lucas continued discussing marijuana and licenses as a way for Lucas to “get generational wealth and this is my last chance.”