La Mota Owner Looking at La Prision

As a longtime cannabis user, I will admit that cannabis can impact one’s memory. Many stoners have uttered a variation of the phrase, “Wait, what was I just saying/looking for/doing?” Thankfully, this is a temporary occurrence, and it’s rare that any of the misplaced intentions are a hanging matter.

So while everyone deserves a pass for forgetting things while high, there are some things that come with penalties, such as forgetting to pick up your children from school, your Mom’s birthday, and paying your taxes.

Recently, Rosa Cazares, the owner and CEO of dispensary chain La Mota, discovered that last one the hard way. She’s facing a federal indictment on multiple charges of tax fraud, which could result in prison time.

La Mota has solid name recognition, with a Latina owner and CEO who in a 2017 profile was lauded for having a staff that was nearly 80% women. (More of that, please.) They started in Oregon, and expanded into New Mexico. They have 40+ stores between the two states, and are known in some circles for sub $50 ounces of flower.

In other circles, they are known for being the catalyst in the resignation of former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan in 2023. In an industry known for being messy, this development required a Level 3 Haz Mat team. Thanks to ace reporter Sophie Peel, the best part of Willamette Week, her three-month investigation revealed that La Mota had some…issues.

As I shared in a May 2023 column, “As Peel wrote, ‘The chain and the companies they control have been issued more than $3 million in tax liens over the past five years’ . . . and that Cazares, [Aaron] Mitchell and several La Mota entities have faced 30 lawsuits filed in Oregon circuit courts since 2017 that collectively allege more than $1.7 million in unpaid bills from cannabis vendors, handymen, testing labs, and even the accounting firm hired to complete 2021 tax returns for all of the LLCs.”

Peel’s work also uncovered that Secretary Fagan had signed a consulting contract for $10,000 a month to help La Mota expand beyond Oregon and New Mexico. Fagen exited the deal, but the damage was done, and she resigned days later. A nonprofit run by La Mota, designed to train applicants in cannabis extraction, was forced to return a $500,000 grant from the Bureau of Labor and Industries.

La Mota closed a few Oregon dispensaries and that seemed to be the end of that.

Until this month, when the Justice Department announced that Cazares had failed to collect and pay over $1.5 million in federal income, Medicare and Social Security taxes on La Mota and another of her businesses, 503 Staffing, between March 2020 and December 2021.

This isn’t the only unpaid tax issue associated with La Mota. Cazares’ business and life partner, Aaron Mitchell, was hit with an eye-watering tax bill of $7.9 million from the Oregon Department of Revenue for five tax liens going back to 2020. Per Peel, “…The unpaid taxes included marijuana, personal income and withholding taxes—including $3.4 million owed for personal income tax from 2021 alone.” This isn’t the first time Mitchell has been cited for unpaid taxes, with issues going back to 2014. While Mitchell isn’t looking at any jail time, Cazares may well be. She’s facing up to five years per charge, or a potential 40 years (which is too long, and likely won’t be imposed).

While the unpaid taxes is not a reason for many to forgo shopping at La Mota, their history of lawsuits from employees may be. Back in 2023, Peel wrote, “Records show that 21 former employees have filed complaints against La Mota with the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries since 2019. They allege unpaid or late wages, unsafe working conditions due to health hazards, and allege the company did not implement safety precautions after armed robberies.” (The armed robbery complaint was prior to the fatal shooting of two armed robbers at a La Mota dispensary in St. Johns in 2024 by the store manager.)

It’s hard to justify supporting a business with this many lawsuits from members of the cannabis industry.