From Marley Coffee to Mystery Millions: Court Orders Answers on $4.65M in Jammin’ Java Fraud Probe
December 27 - 2025
Coffee Geography Magazine
D. L. Gemeda
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has dismissed a constitutional challenge and compelled a United Kingdom businessman to explain the source of millions of dollars suspected of being the proceeds of a cross-border stock fraud. The ruling marks a significant test of the province’s new unexplained wealth order regime, designed to combat money laundering.
Justice Neena Sharma’s December 22 decision orders Kevin Patrick Miller, 54, to provide a sworn accounting for approximately $4.65 million that was transferred to the trust account of a now-disbarred Vancouver lawyer. The funds are alleged to be profits from a $78-million “pump and dump” scheme involving Jammin’ Java Corp., a company that once operated as Marley Coffee under license from reggae legend Bob Marley’s son, Rohan.
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Miller and conspirators concealed shares in offshore shells to avoid reporting rules between 2010 and 2011. They then used false newsletters and a sham financing arrangement to artificially “pump” the stock’s value before “dumping” their shares through fraudulent filings. While Rohan Marley was never accused of wrongdoing and later successfully sued for trademark infringement, the SEC alleged Miller was central to the fraud. In 2017, Miller agreed to a consent judgment to disgorge nearly US$900,000, without admitting or denying the allegations.
The B.C. case arose when investigators traced funds from the scheme to the trust account of lawyer Ronald Pelletier. A Law Society of B.C. panel later disbarred Pelletier, finding he went to “great lengths” to hide illicit money, including purchasing 20 burner phones, using anonymous emails, and altering invoices. Panel findings noted some of the money was used for Vancouver real estate, renovations, a car in Toronto, and a ring from Tiffany & Co.
When Miller petitioned to recover the frozen funds, the B.C. Director of Civil Forfeiture applied for an unexplained wealth order—a tool introduced in 2023 that reverses the onus onto an individual to explain the source of wealth when it is suspected to be from crime. Miller challenged the law’s constitutionality, calling the case a “fishing expedition” based on unproven allegations from another jurisdiction and dismissing the Law Society findings as “hearsay.”
Justice Sharma rejected these arguments. She found the “cumulative effect” of the SEC judgment—which formally found Miller liable for disgorgement—and the detailed Law Society findings created a reasonable suspicion the funds originated from unlawful activity. “Securities fraud does not respect international boundaries,” Sharma wrote, addressing Miller’s objection to a foreign agency’s allegations. She ruled it was unnecessary to prove criminality at this stage, only that a serious question exists to be tried.
The judge dismissed Miller’s constitutional challenge and ordered him to provide a statement detailing how he acquired and maintains the disputed $4.65 million. The ruling strengthens the province’s second-ever unexplained wealth order case, aiming to have the funds forfeited as proceeds of crime. Miller, whose last known location was Malta, continues to deny any participation in or profit from the alleged fraud.