Federal prosecutors have indicted Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins on two counts of extortion. The indictment alleges Tompkins pressured an executive from a Boston-based cannabis company to provide him with $50,000 in company stock.
Tompkins, who has served as sheriff since 2013 and oversees roughly 1,000 employees responsible for Boston’s correctional facilities, was arrested in Florida and is expected to appear in federal court in Boston.
Prosecutors claim the cannabis company — keen to maintain its partnership with the sheriff’s department for a program referring released inmates — complied out of fear its operations or IPO timing would be jeopardized. In 2020, Tompkins allegedly wired $50,000 from his retirement account to buy stock. When the stock’s value fell, he demanded — and received — a full refund. Evidence includes multiple checks labeled as “loan repayments.”
Tompkins’s legal troubles follow a 2023 fine of $12,300 for nepotism and misuse of staff, including the creation of a position for his niece and assigning personal errands to subordinates.
If convicted, Tompkins could face up to 20 years in prison for each extortion count, accompanied by fines and supervised release. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley condemned his conduct as a breach of the public trust.
A press release from Foley’s office continues, outlining the charges in detail:
“From his very first day as Suffolk County Sheriff, Steven Tompkins sought to portray himself as a man of the people – a principled public servant and reformer, devoted to the cause of justice. That’s why it’s beyond disappointing that he’s now accused of gaming a system instituted in the interests of public safety and fair play. The FBI took Sheriff Tompkins into custody today for allegedly extorting $50,000 from the owner of a national cannabis retailer seeking to do business in Boston. We believe what the Sheriff saw as an easy way to make a quick buck on the sly is clear cut corruption under federal law,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The citizens of Suffolk County deserve better, not a man who is accused of trading on his position to bankroll his own political and financial future. Public servants must be held to the highest of ethical standards, and those falling short will be rooted out.”
Tompkins currently serves as the Sheriff for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD). He was first appointed Sheriff in 2013, elected as Sheriff in a special election in or about 2014, and thereafter elected to successive six-year terms. As Sheriff, Tompkins oversees approximately 1,000 correctional officers and other employees responsible for operating and maintaining correctional facilities in Boston at the House of Correction and the Nashua Street Jail.
According to court documents, in 2019, the cannabis company, Company A, sought to open a retail cannabis dispensary in Boston and applied to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) for a dispensary license. To satisfy the Positive Impact Plan (PIP) requirement of the CCC, Company A entered into a partnership with the SCSD whereby the SCSD would help screen and refer graduates of its re-entry program to apply for work at Company A’s retail store.
Company A’s partnership with the SCSD was memorialized in a September 2019 letter signed by Tompkins and submitted to the CCC in its completed dispensary license application in or about March 2020. In or about March 2021, the CCC approved a license for Company A to operate a cannabis dispensary in Boston. The CCC later approved license renewal applications for Company A in 2021, 2022 and 2023. In each of the renewal applications, Company A included its ongoing partnership with the SCSD as part of its fulfillment of the PIP requirement.
According to court documents, one of Company A’s goals was to raise capital to launch an initial public offering (IPO) and then continue its growth as a publicly traded company. Company A officials, including a company executive identified as Individual A, sought multimillion-dollar investments from institutions or other high net-worth, sophisticated investors in order to raise capital. Company A officials, including Individual A, were not looking to raise capital from the general public or small, individual investors. Beginning in or about mid-2020, Company A began preparing for an IPO of Company A stock, which included producing audited financial statements, hiring attorneys to ensure compliance with securities laws and obtaining additional financing from large scale and high net-worth investors, among other things.
It is alleged that Tompkins pressured Individual A for stock, reminding Individual A that Tompkins had helped Company A in its Boston licensing efforts. It is alleged that Individual A believed and feared that Tompkins would use his official position as Sheriff to jeopardize Company A’s partnership with the SCSD and thus imperil both the dispensary license for Company A, as well as the timing of the IPO. In fact, in October 2020, Company A asked Tompkins for an updated partnership letter to submit to the CCC for its yearly renewal of Company A’s Boston license. Within one month of signing the October 2020 SCSD partnership letter with Company A, and after increased pressure on Individual A, Tompkins allegedly obtained a pre-IPO interest in Company A stock after Individual A relented to Tompkins’s demands.
In November 2020, Tompkins allegedly wired a $50,000 payment from his retirement account to an account controlled by Individual A. Tompkins paid a pre-IPO price of approximately $1.73 per share of Company A stock (equity equivalent to 28,883 shares) and after a reverse stock split, Tompkins held approximately 14,417 shares at a price of approximately $3.46 per share.
According to court documents, in or about mid-2021, when Company A launched its IPO, the stock had a value of approximately $9.60 per share. Thus, Tompkins’s $50,000 purchase of 14,417 shares of Company A stock had appreciated to an approximate value of $138,403.
In May 2022, Company A stock decreased in value such that Tompkins’s equity interest in Company A stock was worth several thousand dollars less than the $50,000 he originally invested. However, Tompkins demanded a refund of $50,000 and, despite the decrease in the value of Tompkins’s investment, Individual A agreed to Tompkins’s demands for full repayment of $50,000.
Subsequently, from approximately May 2022 to July 2023, Individual A refunded Tompkins $50,000 investment by issuing Tompkins five checks. Allegedly in accordance with Tompkins’s wishes, Individual A wrote memos on certain checks that read “loan repayment” and “[company] expense” to disguise the nature of some of the payments:
The charges of extortion under color of official right each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
U.S. Attorney Foley and FBI SAC Docks made the announcement. Special assistance was provided by the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant United States Attorneys John Mulcahy of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit and Dustin Chao, Chief of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case highlights serious questions about abuse of power and ethical standards among public officials — especially those in law enforcement.
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As Rush would say, “Follow The Money.” Do Not Censor Me!
The sheriff belongs to a protected group in a leftist city and state. He will get a slap on the wrist after his defense starts claiming he is being racially abused.
Lock him up.