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by Mike Caswell

Kirill Chumenko, a Los Angeles man charged for a fraud at Vancouver's Canafarma Hemp Products Corp., is likely to avoid prison. Federal prosecutors in New York have asked a judge to impose a sentence that reflects the "substantial assistance" that Mr. Chumenko has provided to the government. The details of that assistance are not public, but Mr. Chumenko's help was sufficient that prosecutors have not requested any jail term, despite a recommendation from probation authorities that he serve at least four years.

The request from prosecutors comes as part of a case in which they cited Mr. Chumenko and others for a scheme that misled investors in Canafarma, a Canadian Securities Exchange listing that was supposedly developing hemp chewing gum. According to the government, the group touted Canafarma as having $25-million in revenue as it raised money from investors in the U.S. and elsewhere. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) In reality, Canafarma did not process any hemp, nor did it produce any products, the government said. There was no trial for Mr. Chumenko, as he pleaded guilty to charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, as well as related conspiracy counts.

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