Federal prosecutors have indicted La Mota CEO Rosa Cazares on eight counts tied to more than $1.5 million in alleged unpaid federal payroll taxes. The federal tax indictment covers eight consecutive financial quarters in 2020 and 2021, according to the source.
A grand jury returned the indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced Thursday. Prosecutors allege Cazares failed to remit employee payroll withholdings, including taxes for Social Security and Medicare.
What the Mota CEO Indicted Case Alleges
The eight counts relate to La Mota and 503 Staffing LLC, according to the indictment. The filing describes 503 Staffing as a company that existed only to process payroll for La Mota and related entities.
Prosecutors say Cazares controlled the finances of both companies. Each count applies to one quarter in which she allegedly failed to pay taxes, according to the government’s news release.
If convicted, Cazares could face up to 5 years in prison for each count, plus fines and restitution. Those are potential penalties, not a sentence imposed in the case.
Earlier Tax and Ethics Scrutiny
The indictment follows prior reporting about tax issues connected to La Mota. In 2023, Willamette Week reported that the Internal Revenue Service and Oregon Department of Revenue had issued multiple tax liens in prior years against Cazares and co-owner Aaron Mitchell.
The current federal charges apply only to Cazares. Mitchell is not mentioned in the indictment, according to the source. In August, Willamette Week reported that Mitchell had received another $7.9 million in Oregon Department of Revenue liens for unpaid taxes stretching back to 2020.
La Mota operates 45 cannabis stores in Oregon and New Mexico, according to its website. The source identifies Cazares as CEO of La Mota and 503 Staffing, and says she controlled both companies’ finances.
La Mota also figured in scrutiny of then-Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan. Willamette Week reported Fagan had taken a $10,000-per-month consulting contract with a La Mota subsidiary while her office oversaw an audit of the state liquor and cannabis regulatory agency.
Fagan apologized and resigned in May 2023. She agreed to pay a $1,600 fine last year to settle the La Mota case and a second, unrelated complaint with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. An Oregon Department of Justice review found she recused herself from the audit only after it had reached the draft stage.
Federal Charges Name Cazares
The Oregon Department of Justice faulted the audits division for moving ahead with public release of the audit report soon after news of Fagan’s consulting work broke, rather than taking more time to review whether the findings were affected.
Those earlier events are separate from the new indictment. The charges announced Thursday name Cazares alone; the source says Mitchell is not mentioned in the document.
Other Grit Daily coverage has examined fraud charges against a startup founder, alleged company fund misuse, and a founder’s securities fraud plea.
The source reports an indictment and potential penalties if Cazares is convicted; it does not report a conviction in this case.
