Former Mayor of Adelanto, California Arrested on Wire Fraud and Bribery Charges Alleging Illicit Payments for Support of Commercial Marijuana Activity

Aug 14, 2021 – RIVERSIDE, California – The former mayor of Adelanto was arrested by FBI special agents on August 13, 2021 on a federal grand jury indictment alleging he accepted more than $ 57,000 Bribes and kickbacks in exchange for approving ordinances authorizing various types of commercial marijuana activity within the city and ensuring that its co-planners obtain city licenses or permits authorizing certain commercial marijuana activities.

Richard Allen Kerr, 64, of Adelanto, was taken into federal custody without incident this morning. He is charged with seven cases of honest service fraud and two cases of bribery.

Kerr, who was Mayor of Adelantos from 2014 to 2018, is expected to appear in the U.S. District Court in Riverside for the first time this afternoon.

According to the indictment returned on Aug. 11, as part of his official duties, Kerr was voting on ordinances regulating zoning in the city and was a member of Adelanto’s Cannabis Dispensary Permit Committee, which determined the number of pharmacy permits issued and applicants to receive them.

As mayor, Kerr supported the legalization of marijuana, voted for an ordinance authorizing marijuana cultivation in the city, voted for an ordinance authorizing medical marijuana dispensaries to operate, and voted to authorize distribution, transportation, and distribution Medical marijuana testing of other commercial marijuana activities. At the same time, according to the indictment, Kerr secretly used his official position to enrich himself and his co-planners by passing the same ordinances.

Kerr also reportedly designed zones for commercial marijuana activities to include locations used by his co-intrigues, and made sure they got the licenses and permits they wanted – in exchange for bribes, kickbacks, and gifts.

Kerr’s alleged accomplices included an attorney specializing in tort lawsuits from plaintiffs – identified as “Person A” in the indictment – and two individuals – identified as “Person C and” Person D – who had business interests in the city including those associated with growing marijuana.

The bribes and kickbacks were disguised by Kerr and his accomplices as gifts, donations to a charitable fund, donations for Kerr’s campaign, or advance payments for the proceeds of a proposed litigation related to a motorcycle accident.

In exchange for bribes and kickbacks, Kerr offered Person A, Person C, and other business associates with business interests in the city favorable official actions on behalf of the city by approving various types of commercial marijuana activities and ensuring that his supporters obtained the licenses or permits that they requested and the interference with the enforcement activities of city officials.

For example, on November 29, 2016, Adelanto City Council held a public discussion of an ordinance, including a discussion of “overlay zones” where medical marijuana dispensaries would be located. The original proposal included two zones, neither of which contained a former restaurant – bought two months earlier by Person A and his spouse.

During the discussion, Kerr requested a change in the boundaries of the second overlay zone, adding Person A’s business to the zone. The plans for the store initially envisaged that the building would be a law office, although they contained elements such as “elongated sales counters”, a “serving room”, a “till” and a “security room”, the indictment said.

On December 5, 2016, Kerr transferred a check for $ 5,000 dated November 29, 2016 from Person A’s real estate escrow to his bank account, and the memorandum of the check read “ADV XMAS FUND.”

In May 2017, Kerr voted twice for a city ordinance that included Person A’s business in the overlay zone of the marijuana dispenser. In February, June, and August 2017, Kerr deposited three checks for $ 10,000 from Person A’s law firm, with the memorandum of each check reading “ADVANCE”.

In total, Kerr accepted at least $ 57,500 in bribes and kickbacks from Person A, Person C, and other co-intrigues.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond any doubt.

If convicted of all charges, Kerr faces a maximum legal sentence of 160 years in federal prison.

The FBI has been investigating this matter.

US Assistant Attorney Sean D. Peterson of the Riverside Branch Office is pursuing this case.

Source: DOJ Approval