Medford, OR – A 52-year-old man from Cave Junction, Oregon, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for operating illegal marijuana cultivation sites and filing false tax returns, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
Steven Shirley, the former president and minister of Earth Peoples Park (EPP), a nonprofit religious organization, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. In addition, he was ordered to pay restitution totaling $290,291 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for unpaid taxes and $12,896 to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for environmental damage caused by his illegal marijuana operations.
Court documents reveal that Shirley began using his position within EPP to acquire and lease properties in Josephine County beginning in 2012. By 2019, Shirley and the nonprofit organization had acquired or co-owned 21 properties, generating at least $400,000 annually in lease revenue. Investigators discovered that Shirley was leasing these properties for large-scale, unlicensed marijuana cultivation.
In 2019, the Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team (JMET) identified 16 of Shirley’s properties involved in illegal marijuana production. During search warrants executed that year, law enforcement officers seized over 15,000 marijuana plants, nine firearms, and evidence that BLM lands had also been used for cultivation. Investigators also found that Shirley had directed employees to grow and sell marijuana illegally.
Despite the raids, Shirley continued operating illegal marijuana grows. In June 2021, additional search warrants revealed ongoing illicit activity on both EPP-owned properties and BLM lands, leading to the seizure of more firearms.
Further investigation by IRS agents revealed that EPP did not meet the criteria for a religious organization under IRS regulations. Rather than using the nonprofit for its intended purpose, Shirley had transformed it into a for-profit land management company. Between 2015 and 2018, Shirley intentionally underreported over $1 million in lease income, which resulted in significant unpaid taxes.
Shirley was charged in August 2023 and pleaded guilty in March 2024 to charges of illegally manufacturing marijuana and filing false tax returns.
“This case highlights the misuse of nonprofit exemptions to conduct illegal activities and evade taxes,” said U.S. Attorney Natalie Wight. “Shirley’s actions were not those of a spiritual leader but rather those of an individual seeking personal profit through illegal and deceptive means.”
Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office, echoed that sentiment. “This sentencing affirms that Shirley’s actions were not those of a spiritual leader but of someone seeking personal profit.”
The investigation involved the BLM, IRS Criminal Investigation, and JMET, with support from multiple state and federal agencies. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith R. Harper.