Feds want to seize Biloxi councilman’s home and millions found in DEA raids of his CBD stores

Margaret Baker
·4 min read
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The federal government says it seized nearly $1.8 million in cash at the home of Biloxi councilman Robert L. Deming III and is planning to go to court to keep the funds.

In court filings, the federal government outlines the cash and other items up for forfeiture as a result of a January search of Deming’s home in Biloxi and at his CBD and kratom stores, dubbed The Candy Shop LLC. Deming owns six stores across Mississippi and North Carolina.

The government argues the cash and others are subject to forfeiture because they are derived from an alleged drug trafficking network involved in money laundering and racketeering through the businesses.

Racketeering is a federal crime, typically categorized as a white-collar scheme involving an illegal enterprise set up to commit fraud, money laundering and other crimes, such as narcotics trafficking.

Robert L. Deming III, city council representative for Ward 4, appears at a Biloxi City Council meeting in Biloxi on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Deming’s home and several of his the Candy and Kratom Shop businesses were raided by the DEA on Jan. 26, 2023.
Robert L. Deming III, city council representative for Ward 4, appears at a Biloxi City Council meeting in Biloxi on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Deming’s home and several of his the Candy and Kratom Shop businesses were raided by the DEA on Jan. 26, 2023.

So far, Deming has not been arrested or detained, though documents obtained by the Sun Herald say the case remains under criminal investigation.

In a recent filing, the government asked to temporarily stall further action in the civil litigation pending the resolution of the criminal investigation.

Cash, cash and more cash

As a result of a nearly two-year investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration agents descended on The Candy Shop LLC stores in Mississippi and North Carolina in January. The items seized in the Mississippi stores were:

  • $575,746.00 in cash DEA agents seized at Deming’s home in the upscale Taylor Oaks subdivision in Biloxi

  • $1,230,559.27 in cash also seized during a Jan. 26 search of Deming’s home

  • $4,040.00 in cash DEA agents seized from a vehicle registered to Deming at his Biloxi home

  • $73,328.24 in cash DEA agents seized from The Candy Shop LLC in Ocean Springs.

  • Property at 946 Caroline Drive in Biloxi in the name of Robert L. Deming III

  • All funds held in Legend Trading, Inc., a cryptocurrency account in the name of Robert Deming

  • All funds in a Wells Fargo account in the name of Robert L. Deming

  • All funds in a Wells Fargo account in the name of Robert L. Deming

  • All funds in a Wells Fargo Account in the name of Robert Deming Attorneys at Law LLC.

  • All funds in a Woodforest National Bank Account in the name of DK Marine LLC.

One of the Candy Shop kratom stores owned by Biloxi Councilman Robert Deming III on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. The shop was raided by the DEA due to an ongoing investigation.
One of the Candy Shop kratom stores owned by Biloxi Councilman Robert Deming III on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. The shop was raided by the DEA due to an ongoing investigation.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents and other law enforcement officers search two cars as a part of raids conducted on the home of Biloxi Councilman Robert Deming III on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Agents would not say specifically what they were looking for or what they found, but agents also conducted raids on several locations of The Candy Shop & Kratom, a kratom store chain owned by Deming.

At the Candy Shop stores in North Carolina, agents seized bulk cash and other items, as listed below:

  • 6,000 units of synthetic cannabis falsely labeled as CBD

  • 500 doses of substances suspected to contain synthetic cannabis

  • 1,000 units of homemade edibles suspected of having cannabis

  • About $2 million in cash

Simultaneous raids of CBD stores in MS & NC

DEA agents raided Deming’s six Candy Shop and kratom stores across Mississippi and in North Carolina on Jan. 26. The year-and-a-half-long investigation was sparked by complaints illness of some customers taking products sold there.

Deming has three stores on the Mississippi Coast — in Biloxi, Gulfport and Ocean Springs — three stories in Hattiesburg and two other stores in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The stores raided on the Mississippi Coast are on Pass Road in Biloxi and on U.S. 90 in Ocean Springs.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents and other law enforcement officers search two cars as a part of raids conducted on the home of Biloxi Councilman Robert Deming III on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Agents would not say specifically what they were looking for or what they found, but agents also conducted raids on several locations of The Candy Shop & Kratom, a kratom store chain owned by Deming.

Chris Bell, special agent in charge for the DEA in Gulfport, told the Sun Herald early on that there had been several complaints about people getting sick after consuming products from the Candy Shop stores.

Hattiesburg police said the January search and seizure at The Candy Shop stores there centered around synthetic cannabinoids, featured as oils or edibles, “that were having additional substances added to them,” which ultimately made some consumers suffer from health problems.

In addition to CBD, the stores sell kratom, a supplement marketed as a pain reliever or to help people focus. Kratom has also been linked to drug overdoses and is illegal to obtain in several states, including Alabama.

“We had complaints at the businesses in and around the Gulf Coast of products that were sold and having ill effects on people consuming them,” Bell said in January.

Some of the concerns were with who the products were being sold to, their ages and the effects on “people who basically were ending up in hospitals over this,” Bell said.

Some of those complaints, Bell said, came from parents of children who were underage.

Who is Robert Deming?

Deming, a graduate of Biloxi High School, is currently in his third term as Ward 4 councilman.

He was first elected in 2013, then reelected in 2017 and again in 2021.

Deming is also a Mississippi Coast lawyer specializing in bankruptcy, breach of contract, estate, trusts and probate, personal injury litigation and worker’s compensation law.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Deming owns the full-service consulting firm Denham Law Firm and DEMING Enterprises LLC.

Deming received his undergraduate degree from University of Southern Mississippi and his juris doctorate from University of Mississippi School of Law.

Howard Avenue, once a vibrant part of downtown Biloxi, has struggled to attract business and visitors over the decades. Councilman Robert Deming III believes 2-way traffic will help bring people to the area and envisions restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues in the future.
Howard Avenue, once a vibrant part of downtown Biloxi, has struggled to attract business and visitors over the decades. Councilman Robert Deming III believes 2-way traffic will help bring people to the area and envisions restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues in the future.