Cannabis shop owners sue Tri-Cities manager accused of stealing $700K
The Pacific Outpost owners are suing the Pasco cannabis shop’s former general manager for $770,000 she allegedly siphoned from the business in its first year.
Evergreen State Investments and Gigi’s Properties filed a civil suit against Ashley N. Avila in Franklin County Superior Court. They claim Avila, who was hired in March 2024, stole as much as $120,000 in one month.
She used the money for gambling and bought vehicles and luxury items. They believe as many as five unnamed people benefited from the stolen money or helped Avila hide where it came from.
The lawsuit is looking to get the money back, and for a court order stopping the transfer or sale of any property without court approval.
Avila, 30, is also charged with first-degree theft in Franklin County Superior Court. She has been released on a $25,000 bond. Her trial is scheduled for Aug. 27.
Evergreen State Investments was one of three companies looking to open in Pasco when the city lifted the ban on marijuana retailers in 2023. They initially planned to call the store Biggie’s Pot Shop.
The court documents said, Gigi’s Properties’ owner bought into Evergreen after working to enter into the cannabis market. Gigi’s owner, Genevieve Greeley, became the president of Evergreen State Investments.
They changed the name of the shop to The Pacific Outpost before opening in March 2024. Evergreen hired Avila to run the store. Her job included included paying taxes, handling cash deposits, paying expenses and running the business.
She allegedly started stealing as soon as she was hired, court documents said. In the first month she used company accounts to take nearly $4,500.
The amount of missing money started to balloon the next month. Because cannabis remains illegal on a federal level, it is largely a cash business, court documents said. Skimming money from one is a common way employees steal from these types of businesses.
Avila started taking money from the deposits in April 2024 with $11,500 going missing and another $4,500 being spent out of the company’s accounts.
She allegedly continued taking money from those two sources, taking as much as $64,000 a month from the deposits and $40,000 from the company’s accounts.
She added an additional source of money, this time from Gigi’s Properties, which shouldn’t have had any part of her scheme.
Her spending sped up going into 2025, reaching a height in April 2025 when she skimmed $110,000 in cash, spent another $8,000 through Evergreen’s accounts and $4,700 through fraudulent spending.
Then in May 2025, Evergreen officials discovered their tax bill hadn’t been paid. When they talked with Avila, she claimed it was a misunderstanding. Avila hid that the business was facing a 21-day deadline to pay or have their license to sell cannabis suspended.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board met with Greeley on May 16 to tell her about the deadline and the outstanding taxes. This led Evergreen to uncover the “massive embezzlement.”
On the same day, Avila quit “alleging various employment issues.”
This story was originally published July 10, 2025 at 12:50 PM.