John “Jack” Griffin, 62, of Philadelphia, has pled guilty to charges of wire fraud and tax evasion. The announcement was made by United States Attorney David Metcalf following Griffin’s court appearance before United States District Judge Chad F. Kenney.
Griffin founded Second Story Farming Inc., operating under the name Metropolis Farms. The company engaged in multiple ventures including selling vertical farming systems and developing sustainable technologies for such operations.
In 2017, Griffin sold vertical farming systems to two companies. He provided financial projections that significantly exaggerated potential revenues while minimizing expected expenses. Based on these misleading projections, both companies paid Second Story Farming to establish vertical farms. However, instead of using the funds as intended, Griffin allocated most of the money towards personal expenses and sustaining his company’s research and development efforts.
Additionally, despite earning income from Second Story Farming in 2017, Griffin failed to file a tax return for that year. To hide this income, he reportedly withdrew cash from business accounts for personal use and transferred funds to his wife.
Griffin is set to be sentenced on October 22 and could face up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud charge and five years for the tax evasion charge.
The investigation involved IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis Weber along with Trial Attorney Catriona Coppler from the Department of Justice’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
