Cannabis Company Owner Geoffrey Thompson Sentenced to 33 Months for Taking $952,000 From Investors With IPO Promises

Case from 2021–2024 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Dec. 3, 2021; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Geoffrey Thompson, formerly of Frankfort, Illinois, and later of Naples, Florida, owned a Canadian-based cannabis company that did business in Colorado. He was sentenced on Feb. 15, 2024, in federal court in Chicago for a scheme in which investors lost at least $952,000, according to court records [4]. Crain's Chicago Business and Cannabis Law Report said the sentence was 33 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release [2] [3].

News reports identify Thompson's company as Doyen Elements, later renamed Covalent Collective [2] [3].

How the scheme worked

According to the criminal information filed Dec. 2, 2021, as described by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois [1]:

1. The pitch. In 2018 and 2019, Thompson raised money from investors by telling them it would pay for expanding the company and for an initial public offering.
2. The reality. He misrepresented the company's finances and knew it was in no position to go public.
3. Where the money went. He used investor funds for himself and his family, and to make Ponzi-type payments to keep earlier investors quiet.

Thompson pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Dec. 16, 2022, before U.S. District Judge John F. Kness [4] [3].

Earlier SEC case

On Sept. 3, 2020, before the criminal charge, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Thompson, calling him a "recidivist securities laws violator." The SEC alleged that from 2014 to 2019 he and Covalent Collective raised more than $19 million from about 500 investors in unregistered offerings. It said the company never started revenue-generating operations and that Thompson diverted more than $2.7 million for himself [5].

A final judgment entered Jan. 20, 2021, ordered Thompson to pay $481,328 in disgorgement, $51,615 in prejudgment interest and a $9,639 civil penalty [6].

The person sentenced

Geoffrey Thompson, 53 at charging, Naples, Fla. (formerly Frankfort, Ill.) [1]

• Charge: one count of wire fraud by information. Case No. 1:21-cr-00728 (N.D. Ill.) [4].
• Plea: guilty, Dec. 16, 2022.
• Sentence: 33 months in prison plus 3 years of supervised release, per news reports [2] [3]. The hearing was Feb. 15, 2024, and judgment was entered Feb. 20, 2024 [4].
• Investigation: FBI Chicago.

Red flags

• "Get in before the IPO" pitches for shares of a private company, especially one with no revenue.
• A company promising a listing date that keeps slipping.
• Returns paid to early investors while the business itself earns nothing. That's a sign new money is paying old investors.
• A promoter with a prior SEC record. Check before you invest.

What to do

1. Search the SEC's action lookup at sec.gov/litigations/sec-action-look-up and FINRA BrokerCheck for the people behind any offering.
2. Check EDGAR at sec.gov/edgar for registration statements or Form D filings. No filings for a supposedly imminent IPO is a serious warning sign.
3. Report suspected offering fraud to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr and to your state securities regulator.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Geoffrey Thompson	N.D. Ill., 1:21-cr-00728 (criminal)	Pleaded guilty to wire fraud Dec. 16, 2022; sentenced Feb. 15, 2024, to 33 months plus 3 years supervised release (per news reports)	[2], [3], [4]
Geoffrey J. Thompson	N.D. Ill., 1:20-cv-05205 (SEC civil)	Final judgment Jan. 20, 2021: $481,328 disgorgement, $51,615 interest, $9,639 penalty	[5], [6]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Owner of Cannabis Company Charged in Federal Court With Swindling Investors Out of More Than $950,000," Dec. 3, 2021. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/owner-cannabis-company-charged-federal-court-swindling-investors-out-more-950000
2. Crain's Chicago Business, "Doyen Elements' Geoff Thompson sentenced to 33 months in prison," March 5, 2024. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/cannabis/doyen-elements-geoff-thompson-sentenced-33-months-prison/
3. Cannabis Law Report, "Geoff Thomspson (Doyen Elements) Goes Down For 33 Months For Listing Scam," 2024. https://cannabislaw.report/geoff-thomspson-doyen-elements-goes-down-for-33-months-for-listing-scam/
4. CourtListener, United States v. Thompson, No. 1:21-cr-00728 (N.D. Ill.), docket. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61594073/united-states-v-thompson/
5. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 24887, "SEC Charges Illinois Resident for Unregistered Offerings," Sept. 3, 2020. https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/litreleases/2020/lr24887.htm
6. SEC v. Thompson, No. 1:20-cv-05205 (N.D. Ill.), Final Judgment, Jan. 20, 2021. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.385694/gov.uscourts.ilnd.385694.15.0.pdf

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