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by Mike Caswell

Frank Barone and Kirill Chumenko, who pleaded guilty to U.S. federal charges arising from a fraud at Vancouver's Canafarma Hemp Products Corp., will not go to prison for the scheme. A judge in New York has ordered both men to serve three years of supervised release after prosecutors said that the men provided "substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of others." The men must each forfeit $150,000. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

Mr. Barone, of New Jersey, and Mr. Chumenko, of Los Angeles, received their sentences in separate appearances on Wednesday, Sept. 4, before Judge Loretta Preska. There was no trial, as the pair previously pleaded guilty. Prosecutors claimed that they were part of a group that misled investors in Canafarma, which touted a hemp chewing gum product called "Yooforic." 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. In reality, Canafarma did not process any hemp, nor did it produce any products, the government said.

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