Independent journalist Steve Robinson exposes how Chinese organized crime has infiltrated rural Maine through illegal marijuana operations while government officials remain silent.
Key Takeaways
Over 300 properties across Maine are controlled by Chinese transnational criminal organizations operating illegal marijuana grows
Governor Janet Mills and state law enforcement have taken virtually no action despite years of documented evidence
Chinese cartels exploit legal marijuana laws as camouflage while using banned pesticides that contaminate entire properties
The governor's brother Paul Mills has processed real estate transfers for Chinese nationals connected to these criminal operations
Local media outlets funded by George Soros refuse to investigate or report on the criminal conspiracy
Maine's "live and let live" culture is being systematically exploited by foreign criminal organizations
Environmental contamination from illegal chemicals makes many properties uninhabitable and potentially dangerous for decades
Two-thirds of illegally grown marijuana leaves Maine for black markets in other states
Chinese operatives in military-style fatigues guard some facilities with motion sensors and coordinated security
The Scale of Chinese Criminal Infiltration
Department of Homeland Security documents identified over 270 illegal marijuana sites in Maine alone, with another 800 across the country under control of "Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations"
Robinson's investigation uncovered well over 300 Chinese-controlled properties by analyzing mortgage records, electrical upgrades, and financial documents across every Maine county
These operations span former schools, nursing homes, shoe factories, and scrap metal yards throughout rural communities where real estate prices collapsed after industrial decline
Chinese buyers consistently follow the same pattern: a young English-speaking couple purchases property, introduces themselves to neighbors with gifts, then disappears forever
Subsequent occupants are typically non-English speaking individuals who rarely leave the property except for regular U-Haul pickups every 30-40 days at 3-4 AM
Many facilities burn down from overloaded electrical systems attempting to power intensive growing operations in buildings never designed for such loads
Government Corruption and Willful Blindness
Governor Janet Mills has never publicly acknowledged the criminal conspiracy despite overwhelming evidence presented directly to her office and staff
Mills's brother Paul Mills, a Farmington attorney, processed real estate transfers for Chinese nationals connected to illegal marijuana operations, including a suspicious "gift to mother" transaction days after law enforcement raids
When contacted by Robinson, Paul Mills claimed he "couldn't remember" who asked him to handle the transfer but recalled detailed property information
State Police Colonel Michael Sashchuk, Mills's cabinet appointee, has refused all attempts at communication about the criminal operations despite troopers' frustration with leadership decisions
Office of Cannabis Policy Director John Hudak admitted in legislative testimony that he knowingly issues licenses to individuals suspected of ties to Chinese organized crime because his "hands are tied"
Maine State Police have been involved in only three raids, two occurring just miles from their headquarters, apparently only after becoming concerned about potential cover-up appearances
When Robinson visited state police headquarters with evidence of "a vast criminal conspiracy," he was told "there's nobody here who can talk to you" and promised a callback that never came
Environmental Devastation and Public Health Threats
Every property used for illegal marijuana cultivation requires demolition due to contamination from banned Chinese pesticides, fungicides, and persistent black mold from high-humidity growing conditions
California investigations using Army National Guard weapons of mass destruction units identified illegal Chinese-manufactured chemicals that no Maine laboratory can test for
These substances include pesticides banned even in China, applied in untested combinations and burned as fumigants that coat entire building interiors
Chinese operators import chemicals illegally from California facilities, with shipping records traced to a Massachusetts supply store and a Monmouth, Maine property 1,000 feet from an elementary school
Extraction processes that concentrate THC also concentrate oil-soluble pesticides, creating highly toxic vape products distributed across multiple states
A grandmother and her grandchildren developed immediate respiratory symptoms after touring a contaminated house that had just been listed for sale with no environmental disclosure
Properties feature systematic illegal dumping of styrofoam growing substrates, chemical waste, and other hazardous materials that permanently contaminate soil and groundwater
Carbon monoxide poisoning at a Freedom, Maine facility killed two Chinese workers in what Robinson believes was intentional triad-on-triad violence disguised as an accident
Exploitation of Legal Loopholes and Financial Systems
Chinese criminal organizations exploit Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) programs designed to help marginalized communities access mortgages
Approximately one-third of illegal marijuana properties were purchased using CDFI mortgages through Quantic Bank, which advertises mortgage services to foreign nationals on its website
Two loan officers at Quantic Bank, both Chinese nationals, originated 95% of these suspicious mortgages, with one graduating from a Chinese university affiliated with the PRC's economic warfare program
Small Business Administration loans were available to foreign nationals until recently, providing additional taxpayer-funded assistance to criminal operations
Legal marijuana businesses serve as perfect camouflage, while regulatory complexity creates barriers that legitimate operators struggle to navigate
When raided, operations immediately restart by claiming they're "in the process of getting a license," which prevents law enforcement from taking further action
Property ownership structures use complex trust arrangements to obscure actual control and provide plausible deniability for criminal activity
Real estate transactions often involve significant off-the-books cash payments to avoid tax obligations and hide money flows
Media Suppression and Information Control
George Soros funds Maine's largest newspaper company through the National Trust for Local News, alongside Swiss national Hansorg Wyss who has been sanctioned for illegal political donations
Despite Robinson providing a comprehensive database of 150+ confirmed sites to the Bangor Daily News, they have never reported on the criminal conspiracy
Maine's three major newspapers only publish law enforcement press releases about individual raids while deliberately ignoring documented patterns of organized crime
No Maine media outlet covered Robinson's explosive revelation about Governor Mills's brother profiting from Chinese criminal real estate transactions
National media including CBS and NBC have covered the story, with NBC allegedly plagiarizing Robinson's journalism, but local outlets maintain complete silence
Robinson estimates there are only about six actual journalists remaining in Maine, a state of 1.3 million people larger than the other five New England states combined
The deliberate media blackout serves Democratic political interests by avoiding scrutiny of the Mills administration's failures and potential corruption
Community Impact and Cultural Destruction
Robinson's hometown of Dexter collapsed after Warren Buffett acquired and closed the local shoe factory, eliminating over 1,000 union jobs and devastating the local economy
Foreign-owned convenience stores now dominate small town centers, selling drug paraphernalia, illegal Chinese vapes, and unregulated hemp-derived narcotics to minors while providing hostile service
Seven illegal Chinese marijuana grows operated in Dexter despite the town opting out of the state's legal marijuana program, with local police aware but taking no action
Maine's traditionally polite "live and let live" culture is systematically exploited by criminal organizations who understand locals' reluctance to complain about foreign neighbors
Residents tolerate behavior from Chinese operators they would never accept from white neighbors, including illegal dumping, infrastructure damage, and obvious criminal activity
The state's demographic targeting was explicit, with Maine selected because it was "too white" and suitable for "political experimentation" by progressive organizations
Young Maine natives increasingly cannot afford to remain in the state, with one of Robinson's producers saying they "just haven't been able to save up enough money to get out"
