Vermont CBD retailer accused of bilking hemp farmers of at least $150,000

The owner of a CBD store in Vermont is accused of bilking hemp farmers and writing bad checks.

Douglas Bell, the owner of CBD-Vermont in Waterbury, pleaded not guilty to seven felony counts of theft of service, two felony counts of false pretenses, two misdemeanor counts of writing a bad check and a misdemeanor count of petty larceny and a misdemeanor count of false pretenses.

In December, Bell pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of false pretenses, two misdemeanor counts of bad checks and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, the Times Argus newspaper reported.

A state police officer who accessed Bell’s bank records in April with a subpoena said Bell contracted with farmers despite having insufficient funds to pay those contracts, and that he owed one farm more than $157,000, the newspaper reported.

Bell faces a maximum sentence of 120 years in prison if convicted on all counts.