Folium Biosciences forced out of business by its private equity backer

Cannabis News World

Sep 30

Folium Biosciences forced out of business by its private equity backer
CANNANNEW REPORT

Colorado based Folium Biosciences has been forced into liquidation by its secured lender GEM Private Equity Fund LP. Last week its CBD wholesale customers were surprised to learn that the company's main phone line went to a court appointed receiver who wasn't willing to give them back any money but said they could come to Colorado to collect extracted biomass. The remaining Folium staff were also left without answers from their leader Quan Nguyen who had been acting as CEO when its co-founder Kashif Sham was forced out. Quan Nguyen Cannabis Law Report has previously reported that Nguyen had raised around $700,000 this spring from individual investors in Folium in a last ditch effort to keep making company loan payments. He promised the business would be more profitable once it could fully move operation to Pueblo West. But, according to a person involved in negotiating Folium licenses in Pueblo West they were never granted an operational license after the city found out that some of the documents submitted couldn't be verified because of a likely forgery. There are now questions on if Quan Nguyen purposely mislead investors in the companies final round of financing. Folium has been battling multiple lawsuits by former executives who were promised equity in the company but were never paid after Kashif Shan reneged on oral and written promises. Folium settled three of the lawsuits and lost at trial in Denver state court on another one. Kashif Shan Cannabis Law Report can confirm that at least two of the employees got paid out of the company's insurance money but court documents reviewed by CLR show that Nguyen and Shan and both personally liable for $780k owed in court ordered judgements for the remaining employees. The former employees were represented by Denver…