Leaders of a company that won preliminary approval to operate a medical marijuana dispensary in Massachusetts deny allegations that they defrauded two women out of their Arizona marijuana company last year.
The two women, in complaints to Massachusetts and Arizona state health officials, alleged that they put their life savings into two marijuana dispensaries in Arizona, then were removed from their company by New York investors they had partnered with when running low on cash.
Despite the women’s complaint, Massachusetts approved Patriot Care Corp., a new company formed by the investors and a third partner, for a provisional license in Lowell and invited the company to apply for two more Massachusetts licenses.
Dennis Kunian, a spokesman for those investors, said the women were not pushed out by the investors, but were fired in August for stealing money from 203 Organix, a dispensary in Prescott, Ariz.
“The two ladies stole money from the safe and were caught on camera in the process of doing so,” Kunian said.
But the women gave a different account of the events. “We didn’t steal it,” said Linda Shaughnessy, who took the money along with her partner, Jean Matherly. “We were going to take the money to pay the [dispensary] bills.”
Records show that police were called but did not charge the women.
Matherly and Shaughnessy returned the money the next day.
Court records detail a complex and acrimonious business relationship between Patriot Care’s director, Nicholas Vita, and Shaughnessy and Matherly.
Shaughnessy said the women took the money from the Prescott dispensary because an attorney had told them that a court settlement stripped Vita of control of the dispensary and gave it to them.
A manager at the dispensary called police on Aug. 12, 2013, and reported that Matherly stole approximately $11,171.
After interviewing Matherly that day and checking state corporation records, police concluded that there was no theft because she had a stake in the business, according to a Prescott police report.
“Jean is actually the owner of the business and is firing the management company . . . and decided to take the money home with her to keep it safe,” the police report states.
Matherly said in an interview that the women gave the money back to avoid a protracted legal battle with Vita.
The day after the incident, Vita and his team removed Matherly and Shaughnessy from the company’s board.
Vita’s company still operates that dispensary.
Kunian did not disclose the theft allegation during a March 20 interview with the Globe about the removal of the two women from the company, but contacted the Globe four days later, after a story was published about the women’s allegations against Vita, and made the accusation.
Kay Lazar can be reached at Kay.Lazar@globe.com Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKayLazar. Shelley Murphy can be reached at Shelley.Murphy@globe.com Follow her on Twitter @ShelleyMurph.