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Last month, WW detailed the increasing troubles at La Mota, the second-largest cannabis dispensary chain in the state, and the political aims of its founders and owners, Rosa Cazares and Aaron Mitchell.
As the couple expanded rapidly across the state and contributed to top Democratic Party politicians, including Gov. Tina Kotek and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, they and the companies they control were issued millions in tax liens by the state and the feds and faced 30 lawsuits in Oregon circuit courts, many alleging nonpayment of bills.
This week, WW learned that another $4 million in tax liens were filed by the Internal Revenue Service last year against a company controlled by Cazares and Mitchell. The company is called 503 Staffing LLC. Mitchell and Cazares are registered as the member and manager, respectively, of the LLC, according to state records. It was established in 2017.
That means Cazares, Mitchell and the companies they control have incurred at least $7 million in federal and state liens since 2019 for unpaid taxes stretching back to 2016, including liens for more than $592,000 in state marijuana taxes—even as the couple bankrolled and held fundraisers for top Democratic candidates.
In 2022, public records show, the feds filed four separate tax liens against 503 Staffing LLC in February, March, August and November, totaling more than $4 million. Of that total, $61,428 was for unpaid federal unemployment taxes. The rest—$3.9 million—was for Social Security, Medicare and federal income taxes that were supposed to be withheld from workers’ paychecks and remitted to the feds. The liens issued address tax periods going as far back as the spring of 2018.
An attorney representing Cazares and Mitchell did not respond to a request for comment.