OKLAHOMA CITY (March 2, 2026) – The leader of a sophisticated criminal enterprise that was dismantled by Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) was transferred to Oklahoma on Saturday. Hao Chen, who was arrested Jan. 29 in New York City, has been moved from Rikers Island prison to the Oklahoma County Jail.
Chen faces 18 felony counts stemming from a Multi-County Grand Jury indictment in November. He was among 20 individuals across multiple states who were arrested during the OCTF’s Operation Blunt Force. All of the individuals have been arrested.
The operation targeted Chen's organization, which allegedly ran fraudulent medical marijuana licensing schemes in Oklahoma from 2021 to 2025. Chen’s organization was responsible for approximately 1 million pounds of marijuana worth $1.5 billion in street value.
“Hao Chen and his associates will face the full force of the law,” Drummond said. “They undermined Oklahoma’s licensing process and put Oklahoma communities at risk. My office remains committed to protecting the safety of all Oklahomans and dismantling sophisticated criminal networks that exploit the medical marijuana system.”
According to the indictment, Chen orchestrated a fraudulent “straw owner” scheme that unlawfully obtained Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority licenses and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs registrations for marijuana growing facilities in violation of Oklahoma's residency requirement. The organization recruited Oklahoma residents as straw owners, paid them to use their identities on fake applications, then illegally manufactured marijuana and diverted it to the black market.
The investigation revealed Chen had bank accounts with large cash deposits and regular wire transfers from New York, which were used to pay straw owners and other associates of the conspiracy.
Drummond’s task force worked with 27 law enforcement partners nationwide during the operation.
