Norfolk, Va. – The owners of a Virginia Beach cake shop pleaded guilty to various drug, tax and money laundering crimes.
Vernon Michael Norvell and his wife, Cheron Johnson, owned G’s Cake Shop — Cake for all Occasions in Virginia Beach.
Norvell, 43, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Johnson, 31, pleaded guilty to money laundering and making a false statement in a tax filing.
Court documents say Norvell was a cocaine dealer that regularly conducted business at his home in the Crystal Lake neighborhood in Portsmouth. He also conducted transactions at his cake shop and at a Food Lion parking lot off Airline Boulevard in Portsmouth.
A confidential source regularly bought cocaine for $1,350 to $1,500 over the course of several years. Another source bought over five kilograms, often paying $46,000 per kilogram.
The DEA, in partnership with the Chesapeake and Portsmouth Police Department, conducted controlled purchases of cocaine and crack from Norvell five times from October 2014 to July 2015.
One confidential source regularly purchased ounce quantities of cocaine for $1,350 to $1,500 over the course of several years. Another source purchased in excess of five kilograms, often paying $46,000 per kilogram. At times, Norvell was accepting between $60,000 and $70,000 a week for cocaine.
Norvell and Johnson used the money from selling cocaine to buy a house in the Crystal Lake neighborhood in Portsmouth, several cars, exspensive clothes and other material items, according to court documents.
The couple bought to house as a way to hide their cocaine money. While the home was appraised for $315,000, they bought it for $160,000, They couple made over $80,000 in payments before and after the closing, $14,000 of which was in cash.
From 2012 to 2014, Norvell and Johnson reported a combined adjusted gross income of $157,916. They deposited $926,854, including $338,860 in cash, into almost a dozen bank accounts, including an off shore account located in Curaҫao. From January 2011 through August 2015, the couple deposited $468,500 in cash into their accounts.
Both Norvell and Johnson will be sentenced on June 22. Norvell faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. Johnson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
