Banking

Key Takeaways from Benzinga 2022


After a few days in the Miami sun — well, actually, in the air-conditioned exhibition spaces of the Fontainebleau hotel — the Burns & Levinson team is happy to report that the 2022 Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference was a great success.

Our Cannabis Business & Law Advisory Group was well represented by Frank A. Segall, Scott Moskol, Bryan Natale, and myself – Max Borg. We had the opportunity to connect with many of our fantastic clients throughout the industry and to meet many key industry participants we hope to work with soon.

Benzinga was a concentrated gathering of many – if not most – of the key players throughout the cannabis industry, from the largest investors in the space to founders and CEOs of the largest cannabis companies in the world, to activists, politicians, consultants, advisors, professionals and many others.

Before discussing my five biggest takeaways from the conference, I want to briefly reflect on the experience of the event itself. The passion and enthusiasm for this rapidly growing industry could be felt throughout the conference. It was a fantastic networking and educational experience, and people seemed to be having FUN! I wonder if it was a coincidence the … Keep reading

Coming Up: Cannabis Business & Law Events with Clear-Headed Guidance


Happy 4/20! Today, our team is celebrating by gearing up for two exciting events hosted by Burns & Levinson featuring experts and cannabis marketplace pros from across the industry.

CannaBusiness Advisory Webinar
Permissible Payments in Cannabis
Safer alternatives to cashless ATMs, blockchain, and more
Thursday, April 28 | 4:00 p.m. ET

Register to join us on Thursday, April 28 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Join industry trailblazers for a virtual discussion and industry advisory on the current state of permissible payment platforms in the cannabis industry and legal, ethical alternatives to cashless ATMs and blockchain.

Cashless ATMs are a popular method of payment for consumer cannabis purchases. However, the legality is questionable, and as cashless ATMs may be violating the policies of major credit card companies, the method may soon be shut down.

Frank A. Segall and Scott Moskol of Burns & Levinson, and Terry Neeley of West Coast AML Services, a top compliance advisor to cannabis lenders, will address how cashless ATMs and blockchain payment options may violate credit card company policies and expose dispensary operators, customers, and their banks to potential claims.

Tina Sbrega of Lighthouse Biz Solutions, and Cathy Corby Iannuzzelli of KindTap Technologies, will discuss their … Keep reading

Spotlight Series: Cathy Corby Iannuzzelli, Co-Founder and President of KindTap


The CannaBusiness Advisory Spotlight Series features expert perspectives from Burns & Levinson clients and contacts who are blazing new trails in the cannabis market.

This week we spotlight Cathy Corby Iannuzzelli, Co-Founder, President and Chief Payments Officer of KindTap.

From your corner of the cannabis industry, what’s the single greatest challenge right now?

Without a doubt, the greatest challenge is the conflict in regulations at the state and federal levels. I think of it as “regulatory schizophrenia.” At the state level, cannabis businesses are legal, tax paying companies contributing to the economic and social needs of their communities. At the federal level, they are illegal businesses denied access to mainstream financial services, limited in the legitimate business expenses they can deduct and paying more for just about everything as suppliers increase prices to cover their own risks of serving the cannabis industry. It’s a real credit to the creativity and tenacity of the leaders of the industry – and the value of the product – that the U.S. cannabis market has grown to $30 billion in spite of these challenges.

How does your business solve issues related to this challenge?

KindTap provides compliant digital payment products to consumers … Keep reading

Life as a Cannabis Attorney


Earlier this week, Burns & Levinson’s attorneys Lauren Medeiros Forster and Gustav Stickley V (Gus) spoke on a panel hosted by the Law Firm Alliance about their experiences practicing law in the red-hot cannabis industry.  Today on the blog, they’re sharing their perspectives, experiences as cannabis attorneys, and industry predictions. For background: Lauren’s practice focuses on commercial contracts, mergers & acquisitions, finance, securities, lending, and private equity matters in a range of industries, including cannabis. Gus represents cannabis clients focusing particularly on general corporate matters and governance, mergers and acquisitions, finance, securities, and lending.

What is alluring about practicing business law in the cannabis space?

Gus: Working in the cannabis industry makes me feel like a pioneer. New markets are opening up every election cycle, new regulations are being crafted by state regulators, then amended and further amended to keep up with developments and trends in the market. Companies of all sorts pop up with different goals, and different products (some entirely new to the market!). There is always a new problem that arises that taxes the brain and helps us earn the trust of our clients.

Lauren: I like that I have the opportunity to work … Keep reading

Scott Moskol, Burns & Levinson Cannabis Advisory Group


Scott Moskol, Burns & Levinson Cannabis Advisory Group

This March, NECANN returned to Boston after a pandemic-related hiatus with a three-day in-person show. I was fortunate enough to be asked to moderate a panel with Tina Sbrega of Lighthouse Biz Solutions and Cathy Corby Iannuzzelli of Kindtap on “Aligning Cannabis and CPG Consumer Experiences with Streamlined Payment Methods.” It was a sunny 70-degree day in Boston and spring was in the air. It was a refreshing feeling of renewal – NECANN was revitalized, as were all the attendees ready to enjoy an in-person event. Here are my favorite experiences and key takeaways from the conference:

  • This was the first all-live, in-person panel I’ve spoken on since February 2020. During the pandemic, I’ve embraced virtual opportunities, but it felt fantastic to return to speaking in front of a live and engaged audience.
  • I was glad to see longtime friends, colleagues, familiar industry friends, and of course our clients. Everyone had the networking bug, and the conference was buzzing with energy as attendees eagerly exchanged ideas.
  • The exhibition hall was packed – both with exhibitors and attendees. It was great to see so many local businesses that had survived and thrived the past two years, despite the toll of
… Keep reading
Scott Moskol, Burns & Levinson Cannabis Advisory Group


Scott Moskol, Burns & Levinson Cannabis Advisory Group

Readers, welcome back to the CannaBusiness Advisory blog! It has been a busy last few months as we took a short hiatus from publishing weekly posts. We first launched CannaBusiness Advisory in July 2017, and late last year we hit pause to re-focus our content and manage some large initiatives in our firm’s cannabis business and law advisory practice. Burns & Levinson’s 2021 Annual State of the Cannabis Industry Conference was our biggest and most successful event since we kicked off the conference series five years ago. This was our first in-person cannabis event in Boston since the beginning of the pandemic, and our team was proud to have nearly 200 in-person attendees (vaccinations were required), 60 virtual attendees, 23 expert speakers, and countless connections made. We are hard at work planning our 2022 conference, and in the meantime you can revisit last years’ panels on our YouTube channel.

The spring season is a time of renewal and revitalization. Just as NECANN held its first live Boston event this past weekend, reinvigorating the local cannabis community with the possibilities of the future, we are excited to see where future blog posts take us and our readers with respect to … Keep reading

CannaBusiness Advisory Spotlight William Schreier


CannaBusiness Advisory Spotlight William Schreier

The CannaBusiness Advisory Spotlight Series features expert perspectives from Burns & Levinson clients and contacts who are blazing new trails in the cannabis market.

This week we spotlight William Schreier, Principal and COO of KreditForce.

From your corner of the cannabis industry, what’s the single greatest challenge?

Like many emerging industries, the legal cannabis industry faces various challenges in raising capital efficiently and at attractive terms. The difficulty is even more pronounced in the early stages of a business’s life cycle. Founders, friends and family, and other angel-type investors often provide initial seed capital for the start-up phase. But most businesses exhaust this initial capital well before reaching stability and gaining access to traditional banks or other institutional financing. The vast majority of traditional financial institutions are still unwilling to lend to most aspects of the legal cannabis industry, leaving many cannabis-related businesses (CRBs) with few options to raise non-dilutive debt capital in modest size (e.g., < $20m) just as they are accelerating into their critical growth phase.

How does your business solve issues related to this challenge?

KreditForce LLC is an independent merchant bank dedicated to legal cannabis and related industries that are highly regulated. We … Keep reading

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Featured on CUInsight | Reading the Fine Print: Are Your Directors and Officers Protected?


Cannabis banking can offer many valuable financial benefits for credit unions choosing to serve the industry. However, implementing a well-managed, compliant cannabis banking program requires considerable planning and an understanding of all potential areas of risk. This includes ensuring that the credit union’s directors and officers are covered by their institution’s Directors and Officers (D&O) liability insurance policy. Shield sat down with corporate and finance-focused attorney Scott Moskol, a partner of Boston-based law firm Burns & Levinson and co-chair of the firm’s Financial Restructuring & Distressed Transactions and Cannabis Business & Law Advisory practices. Named an inaugural “Cannabis Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal in 2018, Scott has been providing corporate counsel to clients in the cannabis industry since 2013 and offers his insights on this complex issue.

Read the rest on CUInsight.com.… Keep reading

The SAFE Banking Act: A Reasonable and Narrowly Tailored Approach to Addressing Public Safety Concerns and Lack of Financial Services in Today’s Cannabis Industry


Compared to businesses in other industries, there is no debate that legally operating cannabis-related businesses (referred to herein as “cannabis companies”) are disadvantaged in their efforts to raise capital and thus grow their business. This disparity is especially stark as it relates to cannabis companies seeking to raise debt capital through loan arrangements with financial institutions and private lenders. As a result of the continued federal illegality of marijuana, would-be lenders are hesitant (or, more commonly, outright unwilling) to deploy their capital to cannabis companies for fear of being penalized by federal banking regulators. The primary justifications for assessing penalties on lenders who do transact with cannabis companies are (1) that the proceeds of a loan to a cannabis company inevitably fund “unlawful activity” (i.e., the cultivation, processing and sale of cannabis products) and/or (2) the proceeds deposited by cannabis companies in saving institutions are deemed generated from unlawful activity and are therefore subject to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

How Limited Financial Services Affect the Cannabis Industry

The unwillingness of many banks and other financial institutions to provide financial services to cannabis companies hamstrings the companies in a number of ways; most prominently, it (1) limits the financial services … Keep reading

Eaze Case Puts Financial Institutions on Notice


On March 24, 2021, Defendants Hamid (Ray) Akhavan and Ruben Weigand were found guilty of defrauding banks as part of a scheme they had set up to help cannabis company Eaze accept credit card payments for marijuana purchases. During the trial, former Eaze CEO James Patterson testified that he and other Eaze employees, Eaze board members, and even the dispensaries they served, knew that they were disguising the payments to appear as if they originated from non-cannabis businesses because banks and the major credit card networks did not allow credit cards to be used for marijuana. The Defendants argued that although banks may claim that they do not want nor allow marijuana transactions, they, in fact, know they are facilitating marijuana-related payments and profit from doing so.

Although a prosecution witness from Bank of America testified that the bank’s policies strictly prohibit doing business with cannabis-related companies, he also admitted that Bank of America profits from marijuana credit card purchases when customers maintain balances on their cards. Bank of America stated that it monitors for cannabis-related transactions by screening merchant names and if an investigation reveals that a merchant is a cannabis-related business, it reports the merchant to Visa … Keep reading