A Gretna man is accused of misleading a Baker property owner into investing more than $100,000 in a fictional medical marijuana business he wasn’t licensed to open.
The property owner didn’t learn the business endeavor was fraudulent until after work was already underway to remodel the building.
Kyle Guilbeaux, 54, has been charged with theft greater than $25,000 for checks he received between August 2022 and January 2023.
According to the warrant for Guilbeaux’s arrest, he met the property owner in summer 2022, with Guilbeaux claiming to be affiliated with a medical marijuana facility in the state and possessing the license to operate another dispensary.
Guilbeaux proposed converting a building on the man's property into a medical marijuana pharmacy, and the two entered into an arrangement where the property owner would keep 80% of the earnings from the pharmacy, according to the warrant.
The man told East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputies he arranged for multiple contractors to begin demolition on the building, and met with other companies for quotes on remodeling the interior, upgrading the HVAC and electrical systems, paving a drive-thru on the property and installing security cameras.
The man allegedly wrote seven checks to Guilbeaux, totaling $109,250, according to the arrest warrant.
Some work was performed — with wallpaper, drywall and flooring being removed — but the man said things eventually stopped without explanation. He called a contracted flooring company, and the owner said he never received a down payment to cover the cost of the flooring.
The man told deputies he had given Guilbeaux a check to make that down payment.
He learned through a court order that his checks had been credited into an account owned by Guilbeaux, but no transactions had been made for building materials.
Instead, transactions were made at Club4Fitness, Walmart, Raising Canes, ExxonMobil, Rouses and other businesses, according to the arrest warrant.
The man recorded conversations with Guilbeaux and submitted them to deputies. In one, Guilbeaux said he needed $100,000 to show the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy there was enough money to invest in the business.
Guilbeaux repeatedly assured the property owner he had a license for the new pharmacy and that this is how business for a new medical marijuana facility is conducted, according to the arrest warrant.
Contacting the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, the property owner learned all state medical marijuana licenses have been awarded and all sites allowed for the Baton Rouge area have already been established.
The board told the man Guilbeaux is not a licensed operator for such a site and is not affiliated with one.
In a March 2025 meeting with deputies, Guilbeaux said he had received checks from the man for a consulting fee. He allegedly told deputies he had no experience with this kind of business and did not have a license to open a medical marijuana facility.
Guilbeaux’s attorneys filed a motion this month ordering the state to deliver evidence against him.
“In the sixteen months that this case has been pending the basic evidence of the case, as well as any evidence that supports that charge, has not been produced,” the motion reads.
Guilbeaux’s next court date is scheduled for Jan. 12.