Oregon cannabis chain CEO indicted on federal charges of failing to pay over $1.5 million in payroll taxes

A federal grand jury in Portland has returned an eight-count indictment charging Rosa Cazares, chief executive officer of La Mota LLC and 503 Staffing LLC, with willfully failing to collect, account for and pay over federal payroll taxes, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon announced Oct. 15, 2026. Willamette Week also reported the indictment on Oct. 16.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Cazares oversaw the financial affairs of La Mota, a cannabis business, and 503 Staffing, a payroll processing company, and was responsible for withholding federal income taxes and Social Security and Medicare taxes from employee wages and sending those funds to the IRS. The indictment alleges that between March 2020 and December 2021, she failed to collect, truthfully account for or pay over the required trust fund taxes for both companies. Across eight calendar quarters, the unpaid trust fund taxes totaled $1,542,413, according to the office. Each quarter of nonpayment is charged as a separate count under 26 U.S.C. § 7202.

If convicted, Cazares faces up to five years in federal prison, fines and restitution for each count, the office said. The office noted that an indictment is only an allegation of criminal conduct and that a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Willamette Week described Cazares as the CEO and public face of the La Mota cannabis chain. The paper reported that its 2023 coverage of Cazares and her business partner culminated in the resignation of then-Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, who had signed a consulting contract with the pair while her office was auditing the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.