A man involved in illegal marijuana grows has pleaded guilty in federal court.
Ken Yiu, 49, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count each of maintaining a marijuana-involved premise; and making a false statement and report to a bank in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor. A charge of bank fraud was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Yiu, a U.S. citizen, bought a property in St. Albans for roughly $80,000 in August 2020. He lied on the mortgage application to say it would be his primary residence when he actually lived in New York City, according to court records.
Marijuana was grown at the St. Albans property from about September 2020 to January 2024 and then sold to people in Massachusetts, court records said. Federal law enforcement searched the house in January 2025 and found evidence that marijuana was grown and distributed.
Federal officials have not said how much marijuana was in Yiu’s house.
Yiu’s plea comes nearly two years after a leaked federal government memo in 2023 connected illegal marijuana grow houses in Maine to Chinese organized crime. Initial estimates said there were around 250 houses, but that number was “well below” 100 houses by the end of 2024.
At least 13 people face criminal charges in state and federal court after law enforcement started cracking down on the illegal grow houses. Xisen Guo was the first person to plead guilty in federal court to illegal marijuana charges in Maine.
Maintaining a marijuana-involved premises carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $500,000, as well as up to three years of supervised release following the prison sentence. A false statement to a bank carries a maximum of 30 years in prison and a fine up to $1 million.
Yiu will remain on bail until his sentencing is scheduled at a later date. Guo’s sentencing was scheduled for September but was canceled and has not been rescheduled.
