A New York woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor last week to operating an unlicensed marijuana growing operation in central Maine.
According to court records, Jiamin Liao, a Chinese national living in New York, bought two properties in Madison and Norridgewock several years ago. Federal agents began investigating the properties after discovering a significant increase in electrical usage at the Madison home.
The Somerset County Sheriff's Office searched the two houses last March, and found more than 500 marijuana plants in Madison and roughly 30 pounds of processed marijuana in Norridgewock.
According to the plea agreement, Liao will plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, and a second count will be dismissed. She faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, followed by up to 3 years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $500,000.
As part of the agreement, Liao also waives any claim to the almost $60,000 found in the two properties during the search.
A date for a plea hearing in the case has not been scheduled.
