HARTFORD – Attorney General William Tong has sued a Fairfield business owner and an Oakdale affiliate for $2.5 million for their part in an alleged fraudulent cannabis license-for-sale scheme involving forged documents and tens of thousands of dollars in payments from upwards of 70 businesses.
State Attorney General William Tong announced Monday, July 28, that the state has filed for a $2.5 million prejudgment remedy, seeking to freeze the assets of Michael Tedesco of Fairfield, his company MAKECTBETTER LLC and Zafir Iqbal of Oakdale to prevent them from offloading or shifting resources to evade accountability.
The complaint, filed in Hartford Superior Court, alleges that the defendants misrepresented to Connecticut retailers that they were part of a fictional state “pilot program” that authorized them to sell exclusive cannabis licenses and cannabis supply. No such program exists. Instead, the defendants forged documents purporting to be issued by the Department of Consumer Protection and signed by an official in the Office of the Attorney General.
Iqbal has claimed to have entered into such agreements with approximately 35 businesses, charging $25,000 to $30,000 each. Tedesco has boasted that as many as 70 businesses have entered into such agreements.
“This was a brazen scam to extract tens of thousands of dollars from Connecticut retailers based on false promises and forged documents. But let’s be clear—no one can pretend to be an agent of the Office of the Attorney General and get away with it. We’re suing and moving to freeze $2.5 million in assets based on the unassailable evidence in our case, and the extreme lawlessness of their misconduct,” Tong said.
The complaint details schemes in New Milford, New Haven, and Manchester.
While MAKECTBETTER does not have a functional website, it has parked the domain makectbetter.com with GoDaddy and Tedesco’s email address is listed as youcan@makectbetter.com.
In January 2024 Iqbal introduced Tedesco to the owner of Grab ‘N Go Mart in New Haven and New Milly Smoke Shop in New Milford, according to the complaint. Tedesco allegedly told the owner that he knew people in high positions in state government and was authorized to sell cannabis establishment licenses. In exchange for $50,000, Tedesco provided the owner with forged documents on DCP letterhead, purportedly from an Associate Attorney General, falsely indicating both shops were approved to distribute “legal cannabis.”
Tedesco and Iqbal perpetrated another scam in Manchester in June 2024, representing to the owner of Happy Puff smoke shop he was an agent of a licensed cannabis distributor and could use his relationships with key state personnel to provide Happy Puff a cannabis license in exchange for $30,500.
The payment purportedly included a $10,000 payment to the state, a $10,000 payment to Tedesco, a $5,000 payment to Iqbal, a $5,000 payment for marijuana products, and $500 for a scanner. Iqbal provided Happy Puff with a forged cannabis license and forged cannabis ID card. The complaint alleges numerous violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Cannabis products in Connecticut cannot be sold by unlicensed retailers and must meet rigorous testing and packaging requirements. The Office of the Attorney General works closely with local law enforcement and state partners, including the Department of Consumer Protection and State Police, to investigate and hold accountable bad actors who sell illegal, unregulated, untested cannabis products. Enforcement actions have resulted in seizure of hundreds of pounds of illegal cannabis products, including potent edibles that look like common snacks and candies.
Cannabis-related charges
Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli has suspended the lottery sales agent license for Gulf Convenience LLC located at 111 Gulf St. in Milford for selling illegal cannabis products to minors.
This suspension is the result of a collaborative compliance inspection effort in Milford at various vape shops that also held lottery credentials. The inspections stemmed from many consumer complaints alleging sales of vape and tobacco products to minors. The City of Milford currently does not permit or allow the sale of THC or marijuana substances anywhere within its city limits.
“Promoting and selling illegal cannabis products, especially where people who are underage may buy them, is a gross violation of the trust we put in our license holders,” said DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli. “Thank you to the city of Milford, as well as our sister agencies, who we will continue to work together with to prevent the sale of illegal and dangerous products.”
Gulf Convenience LLC may not conduct lottery sales until further written notice. The license was first issued by DCP on Dec. 8, 2023, and has been renewed annually with the current license set to expire on March 31, 2026.
Complaints about illegal cannabis sales can be sent to DCP.cannabis@ct.gov.
