Scott County prosecutors in May were set to ask a jury to convict Spring Leaf LLC, the owner of tobacco shops in Shakopee and Savage for allegedly selling hemp-derived THC products during the cities’ temporary moratorium on the sale of the products in November, 2022.
But now after a legal battle, the Scott County Attorney’s Office plans on filing charges against past owner Mustafa Gharwal, and have opted to drop charges against Spring Leaf, LLC.
“The State of Minnesota hereby dismisses, without prejudice, the charges in the above-named case and has issued a citation against the proper party in this matter,” an Assistant County Attorney wrote in a court motion.
Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar on April 15 confirmed in an email that his office will bring forward one misdemeanor charge against Gharwal for allegedly violating the city’s temporary moratorium.
Prosecutors in the case originally charged only Spring Leaf LLC in the case, however earlier this year a line prosecutor got Judge Christian S. Wilton to sign off on amending the charge to name Gharwal as the defendant.
But after Spring Leaf defense attorneys argued they do not represent Gharwal, the same judge decided to vacate the order, according to court documents.
According to the Minnesota Secretary of State filings, Spring Leaf lists Ayman Shahin as the “manager” of the company.
However when both Tobacco Express and Savage Express One applied for THC licenses in 2023, both applications listed Mustafa Gharwal as the owner.
According to Savage officials, Gharwal sold his company to Shahin Properties in the beginning of 2024, moving ownership of Tobacco Express and Savage Express One to Shahin. According to a Secretary of State filing, Shahin Properties was formed on Jan. 3, 2024. A few days later on Jan.8, two subsidiaries of Shahin Properties were formed.
Both businesses, now called Shakopee Outlet Plus and Savage Outlet Plus, have been approved for THC licenses.
The case, linked to the Shakopee business Tobacco Express, which at the time was owned by Spring Leaf, stemmed from so-called educational visits conducted by Scott County Public Health in the fall of 2022. In total, 11 businesses were caught selling hemp-derived THC products during moratoriums in Shakopee and Savage.
According to Shakopee police, Tobacco Express was one of many businesses allegedly selling THC products against the moratorium in its stores, and was one of the three that allegedly failed to comply after multiple attempts were made seeking compliance.
Tobacco Express was accused by police of selling a package of 10 gummies containing 10 milligrams of THC each.
