Lewiston Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Manufacture Marijuana

Portland, Maine:  A Lewiston woman was sentenced today in federal court in Portland for conspiring to manufacture marijuana, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced.

U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal sentenced Stephanie Beck, 41, to 60 days in prison and three years of supervised release. Beck pleaded guilty on April 8, 2019.

According to court records, Beck was licensed by the State of Maine Department of Professional & Financial Regulation as a Certified Clinical Supervisor and an Alcohol and Drug Counselor.  Between December 1, 2017, and February 27, 2018, she provided patient names (including the names of MaineCare recipients) to a nurse practitioner, who in turn created fraudulent medical marijuana certifications. These certifications allowed a marijuana trafficking conspiracy to illegally cultivate marijuana plants under the cover of the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Program.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the Healthcare Crimes Unit of the Maine Office of Attorney General; and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.