Sonoma County $50k Cannabis Equity Grant Given to Violent Criminal
Despite having a violent criminal history, Nicholas Christopher Otani received the highest $50k cannabis equity grant award in Sonoma County
Mr. Nicholas Otani, Revelation Operating Company I, LLC dba Revelation Farms & Revelation Extracts received the highest Sonoma County cannabis equity grant award in the amount of $50,270.83 despite his violent criminal history.
In April 2024, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors authorized the allocation of $635,000 in Cannabis Equity grants to 20 local cannabis operators through the program. Everybody who applied for a grant received one.
Eligibility criteria specified that applicants must have been arrested and/or convicted of the sale, possession, distribution, use, manufacture, or cultivation of cannabis (including as a juvenile), or other non-violent cannabis-related crime, or been subject to asset forfeiture because of a cannabis-related offense between 1971 and 2016.
Mr. Otani’s cannabis equity grant application referenced criminal charges related to marijuana sales from the year 2000.
The applicant claimed to be a part of the foster care system, a veteran, low-income, and a completer of a Drug Diversion Program.
Apparently, Mr. Otani has a multitude of misdemeanor and felony criminal charges.
In 2010, Mr. Otani was sentenced with a misdemeanor for disorderly contact with drugs and alcohol, and offensive words in a public place.
In 2012, Otani was sentenced with a felony for inflicting a corporal injury on his spouse, threats to commit a crime resulting in death/bodily injury, and exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm.
In October 2015, a police log published by the Petaluma Argus-Courier indicated 33-year-old Otani was arrested on McGregor Ave. for assault with a non-firearm deadly weapon.
In 2016, Otani was sentenced with a misdemeanor for driving under the influence of alcohol.
In 2019, Otani’s DUI charges were enhanced for the second offense in 7 years.
The most recent statement of information filed with the California Secretary of State on May 27, 2022 indicates that Revelation Farms has an additional manager, Mr. Leon Sharyon. Mr. Sharyon is the former CFO of Lagunitas Brewing Company, and current CFO of Abstract Ice.
A Permit Sonoma staff report collectively included Mr. Sharyon and Mr. Otani in a proposal for a minor conditional use permit for Revelation Operating Company I, LLC.
Mr. Sharyon appears to own a home worth approximately $2M in addition to several corporations.
A fantastic article by former Sebastopol Times reporter Ezra Wallach summarized how how Sonoma County's Cannabis Equity Program missed the mark. Grants went to top dogs in the industry.
In the name of ‘equity’, as a Sonoma County taxpayer, are you comfortable funding violent criminals & wealthy land owners in the cannabis industry?
