D.C. Cannabis Delivery Company CEO Pleads Guilty to Federal Money Laundering Charges

The head of a Washington, D.C. cannabis delivery company on Tuesday pleaded guilty to laundering about $3.5 million through illegal sales. Connor Pennington, 39, was the CEO of JointVentures, LLC which operates as Joint Delivery, but the company was never licensed in any state or D.C. He was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

In a press release, the Justice Department said the business generated nearly $1.5 million in 2018 and by the first three quarters of 2021, generated over $2.3 million in revenue. The Justice Department said Pennington “oversaw and approved of a scheme by which he and other representatives of the company deposited cash in denominations less than $10,000 into several bank accounts the company operated, thus allowing JointVentures to avoid scrutiny from the banks and to disguise the source of the cash.” 

Pennington faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, but the agency noted that “actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.” 

The case is in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.  

In 2020, Joint Delivery and a D.C.-area restaurant had announced a partnership to offer cannabis gifts to delivery customers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the partnership was quickly squashed after the Department of Health, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and Maryland police threatened to take action against the restaurant, according to a Washington City Paper report.