CBD Coffee Scam Prosecuted – CoffeeTalk

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Joecool.com, LLC and its CEO, Joseph Ariel Haber, for alleged misappropriation and misuse of investor funds and false statements to investors over CBD-infused coffee products. Between November 2019 and February 2024, Joecool raised around $2 million from investors through an unregistered securities offering, promising the money would be used to produce, package, promote, and sell various CBD-infused coffee products. The company also paid recidivist securities law violator Robert Tye Cournoyer to find investors and persuade them to part with their money.

The SEC claims that Haber used almost half of the investors’ money—approximately $731,000—to fund his gambling and high-roller habits, including by making various purchases at casinos, pawn shops, restaurants, and cigar lounges. The complaint also states that Haber made approximately $151,000 of net cash withdrawals, at least a portion of which he misused.

The SEC claims that Haber would spend the investor’s money almost as soon as the money was deposited, with examples including an investor’s $15,000 investment deposited in October 2020 when Joecool’s bank balance was only $1,036. The money Haber didn’t spend was given to Cournoyer for finding investors, with the SEC claiming that over $980,000 was sent to Cournoyer. Joecool investors never received any profit distributions or recouped their investment.

Haber asked investors for more money to help pay for the production of K-cups, which he knew were never being produced. He also told investors that he was making deals with hotels, casinos, and airlines to stock the coffee cups, when none of the conversations were real. When investors inquired about the company’s progress, Haber would deceive them with false updates.

The SEC is asking that they disgorge any ill-gotten gains and be barred from acting as officers of a public company. It also asks that they be permanently restrained from being involved in any securities deals.

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