Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas Indicted: Accused of Leading Family Marijuana Enterprise in Five-Year, $4.5 Million Scheme
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 22 that a federal grand jury has charged Virginia state senator Lillie Louise Lucas and six other defendants in an eight-count indictment alleging roles in a racketeering conspiracy involving marijuana distribution, money laundering, honest services fraud through bribery, maintaining drug-involved premises, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and wire fraud.
Lucas, 82, of Portsmouth, was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 1991 and has served since 1992. She has been the Senate's president pro tempore since 2020 and chairs the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, which handles the state budget, tax policy and state expenditures. According to the indictment, Lucas led a criminal enterprise, the 'Lucas Enterprise,' comprised of close associates and family members including her two daughters and a grandson; she allegedly approved and directed its activities, including arranging the acquisition and distribution of 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and supervising the laundering of the proceeds.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the scheme spanned five years and an estimated $4.5 million, and that Lucas allegedly used her position as Finance and Appropriations chairwoman to insulate the enterprise from criminal scrutiny and to influence legislation benefiting it. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Lucas had served in a position of public trust in Virginia for over three decades and that the charges allege she put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia said public office is a position of trust that should never be abused for personal gain.
The indictment also names Carlton Upton Jr., 54, of Chesapeake, Lucas's business partner in VA Freedom Life, the umbrella company for The CBD Shoppe and The Cannabis Outlet since 2019; Upton allegedly made false attestations on an April 2020 application for an $11,800 Economic Injury Disaster Loan. In 2021, Lucas and her daughter Lisa Lucas-Burke opened The Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth; another daughter, Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and her son Ryan Eichelberger allegedly acquired marijuana, supervised its distribution and managed the store. In August 2022, Lucas allegedly paid $750,000 for a 100 percent stake in a shell holding company tied to a co-conspirator's expected Virginia recreational marijuana license, and failed to report the interest on her required ethics filings.
On May 6, the FBI executed federal search warrants at The Cannabis Outlet and The CBD Shoppe, recovering marijuana and firearms at both locations. According to the Associated Press, Lucas surrendered to authorities on Thursday morning. The Justice Department notes that an indictment is merely an allegation and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The indictment also names Prince Albert Williamson Hudson III and Tameka Johnson as co-defendants, and alleges that Lucas later demanded and accepted a $100,000 partial repayment of the $750,000 stake. Lucas was due to make an initial appearance on the afternoon of October 22 in federal court in Norfolk. In a statement posted on social media, she said: 'I grew up under Jim Crow. I've seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up against them. I've spent my life fighting back, and I'm not stopping now. I will not be intimidated. I will not be bullied, and I will not back down.' Blanche also said the investigation into Lucas has been ongoing for several years. (GSM, based on the U.S. Department of Justice)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 弗吉尼亚州议会大厦（Ron Cogswell 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）。Lucas 本人合规近照未查得，以其任职的州议会大厦实景为图。 / Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (Ron Cogswell, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
- 2026-10-22Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas Indicted: Accused of Leading Family Marijuana Enterprise in Five-Year, $4.5 Million SchemeThis story
- 2026-10-22Follow-Up: Virginia State Sen. Louise Lucas Arrested on Federal Charges With Six Co-Defendants
