The Cast
Robert Hunter Biden: Son of President Joe Biden
James “Jim” Biden: Joe Biden’s brother and Hunter’s uncle
Sara Biden: Jim’s wife
The “Chairman”: YE Jianming, owner of CEFC China Energy Company
Gongwen “Kevin” Dong: Ye Jianming’s right-hand man
Ming H. “Mervyn” Yan: Kevin Dong’s associate
Franz Wai Chan: Owned/operated numerous businesses in California and Massachusetts
Suggested reading
Golden Tree & Co. Technology Corp.
Golden Tree was incorporated on September 15, 2017 in California1 by Franz Chan who was the Corporation’s CEO, Secretary, and CFO. A logo had already been commissioned on the DesignCrowd website. The logo design was to include "Planting medicinal marijuana, into a golden tree." The target market was "Asian investor // Potential investors watch our growing business, their investment turn to gold."2
The following month, an ambitious Franz Chan hosted a ribbon cutting to “throngs of Asian media”.3
James Biden recommends visa/immigration expert
In a September 12, 2017 email from Sara Biden to Kevin Dong and Mervyn Yan, with cc to Hunter Biden, Sara wrote:
Kevin and Mervyn,
below is the link to the bio of John Sandweg, the visa/immigration expert that Jim recommended and has been interfacing with re the Zang/Chen visas. Jim mentioned that the Chairman is in need of similar services. Would you like me to put you in direct touch with Mr. Sandweg? He is in private practice now and is heard of his own firm, Frontier Solutions.4
The following day, Sara brought John into the communication for introductions (bolded emphasis mine).
"Subject:Re: John Sandweg bio -- immigration attorney
John, meet Kevin (Gongwen) and Melvyn, representatives of the Chairman of CEFC in the U.S. Pretty sure you know Hunter!
Below is contact information for each of you so you can interface directly. Let me know if you need any further facilitation."5
John Sandweg was a "former acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and former acting General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security”.6 He was being recommended by the Bidens to help "the Chairman" (YE Jianming) of CEFC China Energy Company and others with visa/immigration issues.
Pitching Medical use cannabis project to Bidens
Mervyn Yan was deeply connected with Hunter Biden and the Biden family. On February 7, 2019 Mervyn sent an email to Hunter, Hunter's uncle Jim Biden, and Jim's wife Sara. The subject was "Medical use cannabis project".7
Hunter and Uncle Jim,
I am working on a project about medical use marijuana (CBD) growing facilities in California and Massachusetts, as well as ready to apply testing lab and dispensary license in Massachusetts and New York, hope the paperwork is normal process.
It seems this is a relative niche market and medical use has lot of potential health benefits. Large pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Bristol-Myer Squibb are purchasing end products, such as CBD isolate or oil, from third party growers/suppliers.
I hope to break into this market in relatively short period, as the California facility will come online in 4-6 months and expect to produce 5000-7000 lbs per annum.
Massachusetts Berkshire County facility site was secured last week and expects to follow the application process in State Cannabis Commission, hope to get into production in 1-2 years and expected output of 200,000lbs.
I want to bounce this with you, and see if we can get the specific requirements from these big pharmaceutical to become their small supplier and secure long term purchase orders from them, so we don’t have to sell it to the market, or to any hospitals and/or medical companies who are currently looking for additional supplies.
I will be around MA and CA frequently this year, hope to meet up to discuss.
There is no indication in the Biden Laptop Emails database that any of the Biden family responded to Mervyn’s pitch.
A Long History
Mervyn has been in the news recently for his involvement in business dealings with the Biden Family. On March 17, 2023, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, James Comer, "secretly issued three additional subpoenas" in the Biden Family investigation. Mervyn Yan "a former business associate of Hunter Biden" was one of those subpoenaed.8
Mervyn and Hunter Biden were business partners via Mervyn's ColdHarbour Capital LLC9 and Hudson West III LLC.10
"Individuals connected to the communist Chinese regime... companies that Hunter Biden and his associates used to funnel money all over the world... Gongwen Dong was the right-hand man for the owner of a company called CEFC China Energy Company. Mervyn Yan was his associate. CEFC was an arm of the Chinese Government."11
These Biden/Chinese business connections are vast and outside the scope of this article.
You can read more in Marco Polo's outstanding reporting here:
Making connections
About 11 days after his email to the Biden family pitching the medical use cannabis project, Mervyn introduced two mutual acquaintances, Franz Wai Chan and Wen Chen. “On or about February 23, 2019, Wen and Franz became acquainted through a mutual friend named Mervyn Yan.”12
Franz Chan, as outlined above, was the CEO of Golden Tree in California. He also operated numerous other businesses in California and Massachusetts, including one named Zipbox. Zipbox was incorporated in MA13 just 3 days before Mervyn's email to the Bidens.
According to their Articles of Organization, Zipbox "will be in the shipping container business". Their submitted trademark indicated they were a "Zip Box sealed Box Grower" - enclosed containers for farming that were temperature controlled with lighting and irrigation.14
Greylock Mill
“On or about February 24, 2019, Wen and Franz met for the first time in Boston, Massachusetts. Franz indicated he operated a 50,000-square-foot pot-growing facility in Adelanto, California. Franz boasted to Wen that investors could buy one pot-growing container for $50,000.00 for a return on investment of $120,000.00 in two years.”15
Wen had a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics and was an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. Greylock Mill is an old paper mill in Lee, Massachusetts that Franz wanted to turn into a marijuana facility. Franz told Wen that he was seeking to expand his business into Lee, Massachusetts at the former mill site. However, much of his pitch to Wen was filled with fraudulent misrepresentations.
Franz’ company, Leetown Development, bought Greylock Mill on March 15, 2019 for $3.8 million. “Franz and Leetown Development failed to make mortgage payments for Greylock Mill starting on or about the beginning of 2020.”
According to a lawsuit filed in Berkshire Superior Court in 2021, Franz faked marketing materials, fabricated balance sheets and a “bogus general liability insurance document”, failed to secure documentation “to start any cannabis licensing process”, faked shareholder entities, the list goes on... Unfortunately for Wen, the pitch was convincing enough for him to invest $400,000 in Franz’ project. Franz ghosted him in 2020. “Franz gave Wen no progress updates on the Project and Wen never heard from Franz again.”
Columbia Growth
Mervyn Yan incorporated Columbia Growth in Massachusetts on July 18, 2019.16 “Columbia Growth will be led by Mervyn Yan as Chief Executive Officer and Heng Wang as Chief Financial Officer. Mervyn Yan has been Managing Partner at Coldharbour Capital LLC since 2011. He received his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University at Albany, SUNY and his MBA in Finance from Cass Business School of the City University of London.”17
His Linkedin states he graduated from University at Albany, SUNY in 1997.
The University’s 153rd Commencement publication, School of Business, Bachelor of Science, shows only one person with the surname Yan: Ming H. Yan.18
3 Columbus Circle Suite 2115
Within the Articles of Organization for Columbia Growth, Inc., dated July 18, 2019, appears this address information: 3 Columbus Circle, Suite 2115, New York, NY
This is different from Mervyn's address in the same document. I wonder what other entity might have also resided at that location?
CEFC Infrastructure Investment (US) LLC.19
"CEFC Infrastructure Investment US LLC... is the subsidiary of the CEFC China Energy Company Limited".20
An email in October 2017 to Hunter Biden, Mervyn and others, was an invitation for a business meeting "LNG Pitch - Monkey Island, Louisiana".21 It was to be held at 3CC #2115. 3CC is referenced a few times in Hunter's laptop emails and is a shorthand notation for 3 Columbus Circle. 3CC is used as well in this thread of messages discussing an "office sharing agreement between HW3 [Hudson West III] and CEFC".
CEFC Infrastructure Investment (US) has also been subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee.
“On March 17, 2023, Chairman Comer secretly issued three additional subpoenas as part of the same investigation. The subpoena recipients consisted of two financial institutions, Cathay Bank and JP Morgan Chase, and a former business associate of Hunter Biden, Mervyn Yan. Three days later, on March 20, 2023, Chairman Comer quietly issued a fifth subpoena to HSBC USA N.A.—a multinational bank. In all, the four subpoenas issued to separate financial institutions and a private citizen on March 17 and March 20 sought private financial records, in most cases stretching more than 14 years, relating to six individuals (Shan Gao, Ye Jianming, JiaQi “Jackie” Bao, Ling Liu, Gongwen Dong, and Patrick Ho) and at least ten entities (FRLV Asset Management LLC, FRLV Investments LLC, CEFC Infrastructure Investments US, CEFC Limited, any CEFC China Energy-related entity, State Energy HK Limited, Cold Harbour Capital LLC, Monochrome Capital Partners LLC, Northern International Capital, BREF IV Series A LLC, and Silver Suites 7WTC LLC).22
[Note: bolded emphasis mine]
Expansion into Maine
On Dec 10, 2019, Mervyn Yan incorporated Sherman Growth Inc. in Maine.23 On Jan 7, 2021, he incorporated Westbury House LLC in the same state.24
In a spreadsheet found on the Maine.gov website, titled Adult_Use_Establishments_And_Contacts, As of 09_01_2022"25
License ACD383, Cultivation, Tier 4, SHERMAN GROWTH INC, Pending Conditional, Stacyville, Owner MERVYN YAN from Brooklyn.
License AMS670, Store, WESTBURY HOUSE LLC, Conditional, City Unknown, Owner MERVYN H YAN from Brooklyn.
Big Money
I’ve only touched on the interconnections between the Bidens, China, Mervyn Yan, Franz Chan, et al. Suffice it to say, there are big money dealings with China flowing into the United States’ marijuana industry.
As I wrote about in a previous Substack article, SPI Energy Co. was a Chinese-backed energy company that invested heavily in a marijuana project in Navajo Nation, New Mexico. Now, we’re seeing connections to another Chinese-backed energy company, this time CEFC.
Is there a connection between the unprecedented surge in Chinese individuals crossing our Southern border and the explosion of Chinese-run marijuana grows in the U.S.?
"We must work untiringly so that our children are obliged to learn the truth. Because, it is only through knowledge that we can safely protect them." Reefer Madness (1936)
Golden Tree & Co. Technology Corp., California Secretary of State: bizfile Online, ID: 4065544
"Medical Cannabis Facility in Adelanto Slated to Open February 2018." Victor Valley News Group, October 17, 2017 https://www.vvng.com/medical-cannabis-facility-adelanto-slated-open-february-2018
"Former acting ICE Director and team join Nixon Peabody, form new practice with homeland security focus." Nixon Peabody, Sep 4 2019 https://www.nixonpeabody.com/about/media/2019/09/04/former-acting-ice-director-john-sandweg-and-team-join-nixon-peabody
ColdHarbour Capital LLC, New York Department of State: Division of Corporations, DOS ID: 4703700
Hudson West III LLC, Delaware Department of State: Division of Corporations, File Number: 6020436
Senate Congressional Record, November 29, 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2021/11/29/167/205/CREC-2021-11-29-pt1-PgS8769-4.pdf
CWdetermine, Inc. vs. Zipbox, Inc. et al, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Berkshire Superior Court, Case Number 2176CV00117 https://www.masscourts.org
Zipbox, Inc., Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Corporations Division, Identification Number: 001366897
ZIPBOX SEALED BOX GROWER, US Serial Number 88461318 https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88461318&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
CWdetermine, Inc. vs. Zipbox, Inc. et al, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Berkshire Superior Court, Case Number 2176CV00117 https://www.masscourts.org
Columbia Growth, Inc., Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Corporations Division, Identification Number: 001391384
Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, License Number: MC282622, Columbia Growth, Inc. https://masscannabiscontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/MC282622_Columbia-Growth-Inc..pdf
153rd Commencement May 18, 1997, University At Albany, State University of New York, page 31 (printed) https://archives.albany.edu/downloads/kp78gg445?locale=en
CEFC INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT (US) LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, New York Department of State: Division of Corporations, DOS ID:5232403
CEFC Infrastructure Investment (US) LLC LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/cefc-infrastructure-investment-us-llc
Sherman Growth Inc., Maine Department of the Secretary of State: Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions, Charter Number: 20200366 D
Westbury House LLC, Maine Department of the Secretary of State: Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions, Charter Number: 20215683DC
Just think covid and you'll know what they're doing okay covid was a biological weapon to Target the US and the West to unlike people which is exactly what's happening NMN and NAC to vitamins that will help combat the spike protein issue you must take it if you've had vaccinations you are in serious danger of dying and cancer
Yeah they're poisoning the Cannabis okay to make people go blind and have heavy metals in it and things like this