California officials announced it will sell property seized from illegal cannabis businesses at a public auction in Los Angeles on Feb. 16.
The auction will be overseen by the California Department of Tax & Fee Administration with the California Highway Patrol and will be the first of its kind, according to a Feb. 8 press release from the department.
The seizure of items was a result of search warrants served to collect taxes from the cannabis businesses—nine of which were illegal, and one, a legal dispensary with unpaid taxes.
The businesses owed a combined $14.4 million, according to the press release. The proceeds from the auction will apply toward the liabilities owed by each of the businesses.
“Seizing and auctioning property from cannabis businesses that evade the law is a tool to recover the taxes owed to the state,” said department Director Nick Maduros in the press release.
The items include furniture, electronics, appliances, office equipment, and cannabis manufacturing equipment, and will be sold “as is” to the highest bidder.
The department has conducted more than 2,200 cannabis business inspections statewide and seized more than $90 million in products and cash from businesses, according to the press release.
