He was the accountant for an Oklahoma pot farm that became a massacre site. Now he's charged

The state's multicounty grand jury has indicted an "accountant" tied to the illegal marijuana farm near Hennessey where four workers were massacred last year.

Kevin Paul Pham, 47, is accused in the conspiracy indictment of using "straw owners" and submitting fraudulent documents to get licenses and registrations for medical marijuana grows across Oklahoma.

He faces 13 felony counts in all.

"There was no intent to violate the law whatsoever," said Tom Cummings, his attorney in a civil forfeiture case. "They want to make it out like he's some kind of criminal kingpin.

"He's just a nice normal guy," the attorney said. "He's definitely not part of the underworld or whatever Chinese mafia they think they're trying to take down. Nothing like that.

"I don't know if he's a CPA but I think I can safely call him a bookkeeper. He's doing people's books."

The grand jury returned the indictment Thursday. It was filed Friday in Kingfisher County District Court.

The first count − conspiracy against the state − alleges the illegal activities began around Dec. 30, 2019.

The most serious count − aggravated manufacturing of marijuana − accuses Pham of knowingly aiding the production of pot plants in 2022 at the Liu & Chen farm in violation of the law. The maximum punishment for that offense is life in prison and a $50,000 fine.

What happened at the pot farm near Hennessey?

Four workers were fatally shot in a garage at the Liu & Chen farm on Nov. 20, 2022. A part owner was wounded.

The farm was located north of Oklahoma City and 15 miles west of Hennessey. The state seized it after the deaths.

A former worker, Wu Chen, 46, was arrested in Florida two days after the execution-style shootings. He has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

Chen had demanded that $300,000 be handed over to him as a return of a portion of his investment in the enterprise, prosecutors alleged in court papers.

"The fact that it could not be handed over on a moment's notice was what precipitated the mass murder," prosecutors wrote.

Pham tied to 63 pot grows, narcotics bureau says

Pham was arrested after narcotics agents searched his business in Oklahoma City on Nov. 22, 2022. He was released the next day. He was arrested again Friday after being indicted.

Pham was the part owner or contact person for 63 known marijuana grows, a narcotics agent revealed last year in an affidavit for a search warrant.

More: Suspect in connection with Kingfisher County quadruple homicide captured in Florida

"Various individuals ... are fraudulently obtaining Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority licenses by utilizing straw owners for marijuana grows in order to bypass the two-year Oklahoma residency requirements," according to the affidavit.

"One such individual is Kevin Pham," the agent with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control told a judge. "Pham is a self-proclaimed accountant, but takes a controlling position in each of the marijuana grows of which he is associated."

State law requires a licensed grow operation to be at least 75% owned by Oklahoma residents.

Grand jurors specifically alleged Pham submitted false documents on behalf of Liu & Chen Inc., Valerie Farm Inc., Aladdin Farm Inc., Abu Farms Inc., Platinum Villa Inc. and Purple Farm Inc.

Grand jurors also specifically alleged he was illegally in possession of three pistols and a shotgun during the search of his office last year because he was convicted in 2006 of operating a chop shop.

Who else was charged?

Also indicted was Richard Ignacio, who already has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy against the state.

Ignacio, 36, of Bethany, had been listed as the 75% owner of the Liu & Chen farm.

Ignacio told narcotics agents last year that Pham arranged for him to be listed as the resident owner on several licenses because the actual owners "were not eligible on their own," according to court papers. He said he was paid $2,000 a month at Pham's office for each grow license.

Ignacio is named in the indictment in the conspiracy count and eight other counts. He was arrested Friday. His defense attorney, Justin Lowe, questioned how he could be charged again.

The attorney pointed to the double jeopardy clause in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That clause prohibits a person from being tried twice for the same offense following an acquittal or conviction.

"It's absolutely not fair. It's the same exact charges," Lowe said. "This is wrong is what it is."

Ignacio on Tuesday was put on probation for five years and fined $10,000 after he pleaded guilty to the 2022 conspiracy charge.

Grand jurors alleged in the indictment a third man acted as a middleman in the conspiracy.

Alex Chang, 48, of Oklahoma City, is named in the indictment in two counts − conspiracy and pattern of criminal offenses. He was arrested Friday and could not be reached for comment.

Grand jurors alleged Chang repeatedly provided Pham "the names and contact information for non-Oklahoma residents interested in owning marijuana grow facilities."

The latest multicounty grand jury has returned a number of marijuana-related indictments since first meeting in July. Grand jurors next meet Jan. 9-11.

Grand jurors are advised in their investigations by prosecutors working for Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

"Among my top priorities is to stop the scourge of illegal marijuana operations that has swept Oklahoma since the 2018 legalization of medical marijuana," Drummond said in his latest monthly column.

He said a taskforce he assembled in May "shuts down, on average, one illegal operation every day."

More: Oklahoma authorities cracking down on 'Wild West' marijuana market

The number of registered growers in Oklahoma has dropped from 9,400 in 2021 to approximately 3,200, the narcotics bureau said Friday in a news release.

Narcotics agents on Thursday seized 14,356 plants and shut down QD Farms in Ringling, according to the news release.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Pot farm accountant faces conspiracy charge a year after mass shooting