ALBANY, N.Y. — Federal prosecutors say the owner of head shops in Maine and New York has pleaded guilty to five charges for possessing and intending to sell illegal synthetic drugs.

They say 33-year-old John Tebbetts of Floyd, N.Y., acknowledged having synthetic marijuana, marketed as “Legal Phunk,” and so-called “bath salts” that mimic illegal stimulants and were recently banned by federal law.

Tebbetts owns Tebbs Smokeshops in Portland, Biddeford and Auburn, and in several locations in New York.

Prosecutors say he also pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge for buying a motor home with $157,000 in cash from illegal sales.

He agreed to forfeit $314,000, the motor home, two cars, two pickup trucks, a snowmobile and a trailer.

Sentencing is scheduled April 29. He could face up to 20 years in prison on drug counts.


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