Jennifer Brunenkant, 68, of Washington, D.C., faces multiple federal charges after being indicted for allegedly evading and failing to pay income and employment taxes related to her cannabis dispensary, Herbal Alternatives II, LLC.
Brunenkant’s business is part of a group of plaintiffs suing gifting “I-71” shops for loss of profit due to their alleged unfair competition in federal civil court. It is unclear if she is still the current owner of the business. There is record of an approved transfer of application of ownership in March 2024 from the city regulatory board meetings. However, Jennifer Brunenkant is still listed on the D.C. business online records as a beneficial owner, no other owner is listed.
Brunenkant’s brother, lawyer Jon Brunenkant, represents the plaintiff class for lawsuit. He offered no comment on Jennifer’s indictment when reached by The Outlaw Report. He is not representing her in the federal case. Ms. Brunenkant did not respond to request for comment.
According to a 19-count indictment unsealed last week in the U.S. District Court, Jennifer Brunenkant, who owned and operated the dispensary from at least 2013 to 2021, failed to report millions of dollars in revenue on her personal tax forms as sole-owner of the business.
Prosecutors allege that Brunenkant, as the sole proprietor of Herbal Alternatives, was required to report the business’s income on her personal tax returns. Instead, she allegedly failed to file income tax returns from 2018 to 2021 and allegedly attempted to evade paying approximately $800,000 in federal income taxes.
According to the indictment, Brunenkant allegedly evade taxes by falsely claiming she paid federal income taxes in Kentucky. The indictment also details her opening open multiple bank accounts under different business entities to allegedly hide revenue from the D.C. medical dispensary. She used these accounts to pay employees and pay rent for an apartment that cost approximately $10,000 per month from 2019-2023, among other expenses.
The indictment also accuses Brunenkant of failing to pay approximately $130,000 in employment taxes owed to the IRS on behalf of her employees.
U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Washington D.C. office announced the indictment.
Brunenkant faces a maximum of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion and failure to pay employment taxes, along with potential financial penalties. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on federal sentencing guidelines.
The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kelly is prosecuting the case. Herbal Alternatives is still currently open and operational.
