Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins faces federal extortion charges involving the purchase of an equity interest in a Boston-based cannabis company, United States Attorney Leah Foley announced. Tompkins, 67, of Boston, was arrested Friday morning in the Southern District of Florida, Foley’s office announced. He was indicted on two counts of extortion under color of official right. Tompkins, who was first appointed sheriff in 2013, has served successive six-year terms. He leads a department of approximately 1,000 employees with correctional facilities in Boston at the House of Correction and the Nashua Street Jail.According to Foley, an unidentified cannabis company sought to open a dispensary in Boston in 2019 and agreed that the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department would help screen and refer graduates of its re-entry program to apply for work at the dispensary. The company later received a license from the Cannabis Control Commission.Prosecutors said that in 2020, Tompkins pressured the company for stock as it began to prepare for an initial public offering. Foley said that an executive feared Tompkins would use his position to jeopardize the partnership with his department, and therefore the dispensary license, if the sheriff did not obtain stock.In November 2020, Tompkins paid $50,000 from his retirement account to buy 14,417 shares at a price of $1.73. When the IPO launched to the public in 2021, the stock was valued at $9.60 per share, meaning Tomkins’ stake had an approximate value of $138,403, Foley’s office said.By May 2022, the stock value fell and he lost money. Foley said that Tompkins demanded his $50,000 back and the company executive agreed. The check was paid with a memo that read “loan repayment,” the prosecution said. If Tompkins is convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

BOSTON —

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins faces federal extortion charges involving the purchase of an equity interest in a Boston-based cannabis company, United States Attorney Leah Foley announced.

Tompkins, 67, of Boston, was arrested Friday morning in the Southern District of Florida, Foley’s office announced. He was indicted on two counts of extortion under color of official right.

Tompkins, who was first appointed sheriff in 2013, has served successive six-year terms. He leads a department of approximately 1,000 employees with correctional facilities in Boston at the House of Correction and the Nashua Street Jail.

According to Foley, an unidentified cannabis company sought to open a dispensary in Boston in 2019 and agreed that the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department would help screen and refer graduates of its re-entry program to apply for work at the dispensary. The company later received a license from the Cannabis Control Commission.

Prosecutors said that in 2020, Tompkins pressured the company for stock as it began to prepare for an initial public offering. Foley said that an executive feared Tompkins would use his position to jeopardize the partnership with his department, and therefore the dispensary license, if the sheriff did not obtain stock.

In November 2020, Tompkins paid $50,000 from his retirement account to buy 14,417 shares at a price of $1.73. When the IPO launched to the public in 2021, the stock was valued at $9.60 per share, meaning Tomkins’ stake had an approximate value of $138,403, Foley’s office said.

By May 2022, the stock value fell and he lost money. Foley said that Tompkins demanded his $50,000 back and the company executive agreed.

The check was paid with a memo that read “loan repayment,” the prosecution said.

If Tompkins is convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.