Pot grower borrowed from Cohen
NEW YORK — President Trump’s personal attorney, whose business dealings are being investigated by the FBI, and the lawyer’s father-in-law have lent $26 million in recent years to a taxi mogul who is shifting into the legalized marijuana industry, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press.
Semyon “Sam” Shtayner, a longtime business associate of Michael Cohen’s father-in-law, created Cannaboss LLC, based in Nevada, the day before the 2016 election. A few months later, he took a majority position in a company that is provisionally licensed to cultivate medicinal marijuana and produce edibles, the records show.
“He personally manages over 500 taxi medallions, but he is looking to transition from the medallion business to the cannibas (sic),” according to the personal narrative Shtayner submitted last October to city officials in Henderson, Nev., that was obtained by the AP under the state’s public records law.
It’s not clear whether Shtayner used any of the loans — $6 million of which have come directly from Cohen since 2014 — to finance his grow operation.
Earlier this month, FBI agents searched Cohen’s hotel, office and home seeking banking records, as well as records related to his dealings in the taxi industry, people familiar with the probe told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Public records show the Ukraine-born Shtayner, 63, his wife and companies they control have used their properties in Chicago and Sunny Isles, Fla., as collateral for the loans from Cohen and his father-in-law, Fima Shusterman.
Neither Cohen nor his attorney responded to phone messages or an email seeking comment about the loans. An attorney representing Shtayner in his Nevada marijuana ventures told the AP his client had no comment. Reached on his cell phone, Shusterman declined to discuss his loans or Shtayner.
Trump recently indicated he will support a law protecting states that already have legalized the drug — a position counter to that of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who stridently opposes any such effort and in January lifted restrictions that had kept federal prosecutors from pursuing cases against those complying with state marijuana laws.