Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas' Business Partner Was Arrested for Fraud. Is She Next?

Virginians want answers on Lucas' taxpayer funded business empire—profiting off vulnerable Virginians.

On April 27, 2026, Carl Randall Upton, Jr., business partner of Virginia Senator Louise Lucas, was arrested in Atlanta after being indicted in federal district court for three counts of wire fraud. Days later, the FBI raided businesses owned by Sen. Lucas, including the cannabis shop she co-owns with Upton. This has caused increased scrutiny on Lucas' broader business empire and her political influence over the very agencies who fill her wallet with taxpayer funds.

Shady Partnerships

The indictment against Upton centers around allegations of fraud in obtaining pandemic relief loans from the federal government. 'The federal indictment alleges that Upton applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan through multiple businesses—including one named Virginia Freedom Life. He submitted a pandemic loan application for that business in April 2020 and received $11,800. On July 13, 2020, Upton applied for another loan with the same business, but got denied.

According to the indictment, Upton "devised and intended to scheme and artifice to defraud, and to obtain money by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises and omissions." More specifically, he "sought to fraudulently obtain disaster-related benefits in the form of SBA-sponsored Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans." In total, Upton received $104,200 in disaster loans through multiple businesses.

According to local media reports in July 2021, Sen. Lucas co-owned The Cannabis Outlet with Upton. Lucas lists herself as the CEO of VA Freedom Life, the same business mentioned in the federal indictment, on her required General Assembly Statement of Economic Interest forms on Feb, 1, 2022 and Feb. 1, 2023.

In 2021, VA Freedom Life filed a certificate of occupancy at 1215 High St. in Portsmouth. Sen. Lucas was the applicant, and the company was listed as doing business as The Cannabis Outlet.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) handles business registrations and requirements. The SCC lists VA Freedom Life, LLC in 2021 and 2023, as doing business as The Cannabis Outlet and lists Upton as the manager. No record of a 2022 filing seems to exist on the SCC website.

The SCC indicates that one of Louise Lucas' businesses, Lucas Hospitality, LLC,  does business under the name The Cannabis Outlet. According to SCC documents, the state canceled the business registration on Jan. 1, 2024, due to a lack of registration fee payment.

On December 12, 2025, a new business entity, the Herbal Outlet, LLC filed Articles of Organization with the SCC using the address 1214 County St, Portsmouth. Multiple businesses owned by Sen. Louise Lucas use that same address. Filings do not reveal the name of the business owner of the Herbal Outlet.

Sen. Lucas sponsored a bill in 2026 that would create a retail marijuana market in the Commonwealth. Such a law could benefit her business. The legislation passed along party lines and rather than signing the bill, Governor Spanberger made amendments and sent it back to the General Assembly. The legislature rejected those changes, and it now awaits Spanberger's decision on whether it will move forward.

Senator Lucas' Businesses and Family Ties

Senator Lucas owns multiple businesses in Portsmouth, Virginia. According to her legally required 2026 conflict of interest report she owns five businesses: Lucas Transportation, Southside Direct Care Provider, Lucas Hospitality (The Cannabis Outlet), Portsmouth Day Support, and Lucas Lodge, LLC.

Lucas Lodge consists of eight residential homes in Portsmouth that provide living services to people with intellectual disabilities. This business receives federal and state funding via Medicaid intellectual disability waivers provided through the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS).

The DBHDS is the pass-through agency for both federal and state funding that is distributed to local entities such as the Portsmouth Department of Behavioral Health Services (DBHS), which gets its funding approval from the Portsmouth City Council. Lisa Lucas-Burke, Sen. Lucas' daughter, served on the city council from 2017-2025. Lucas-Burke has been the executive director of Lucas Lodge since 2015.

The former Director of Portsmouth Behavioral Healthcare that controls federal and state funds for disability services is M. Elaine Breathwaite—Louise Lucas' sorority sister. Breathwaite also campaigned for Lucas.

Lucas Lodge received nearly $17 million in Medicaid payments from 2018-2024. The business also received $659,200 in PPP loans—subsequently forgiven—in 2021.

Since 1994, Sen. Lucas has sat on the Virginia Senate Committee on Education and Healthcare which oversees DBHDS. She has served on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee since 2008—currently as the chair. Lucas' responsibilities include oversight and funding of the agency that funds her business, Lucas Lodge.

The local political blog Bacon's Rebellion points out that Sen. Lucas patroned (sponsored) the 2026 Senate budget bill that increases developmental disability waiver rates, financially benefiting Lucas' businesses.

Journalist James Sherlock reported a bombshell story in March 2026 exposing widespread problems at Lucas Lodge. Sherlock exposed the facility had received citations for 217 violations of Virginia laws and regulations since 2021, including systemic non-compliance. He also documented nine deaths and 143 serious injuries at Lucas Lodge since 2019. Of those 143 injuries, 102 of them occurred in the residential group homes, which have a combined capacity of just 24 residents at any given time.

Despite the severity and volume of the violations, no public investigations or meaningful consequences have been reported.

While Sen. Lucas has the presumption of innocence, her close business ties to Carl Upton could spark attention from law enforcement. The broader concerns of Lucas' political influence while benefitting from taxpayer dollars through her businesses remain unanswered. Taxpayers and vulnerable Virginians dependent on disability services deserve answers to these issues.

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