NOT YOUR BAKERY CEO ARRESTED, HELD WITHOUT BOND IN THC PROBE

MICHEL IVES IS LATEST ARREST IN PBC, NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.

DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The CEO of a Delray Beach hemp company accused of running a nationwide THC distribution network now faces 11 felony counts, and his arrest paperwork calls for him to be held without bond on the most serious ones.

Michael Carey Ives, 33, who lists addresses in Briny Breezes and Boynton Beach, is charged with money laundering over $100,000, conspiracy to commit organized fraud over $50,000, selling a Schedule I controlled substance, owning or leasing a structure used to sell drugs, and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, along with conspiracy counts. A rough arrest form filed in Palm Beach County criminal court lists him as held without bond on the five money laundering and fraud counts. It’s the same Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office case that led to the arrest of Not Your Bakery LLC’s former chief financial officer, Casey Anne Smith, Ives’ former partner, as BocaNewsNow.com first reported last month. Hassan Mohamed Soueid, 33, and Jonathan Enaldo Zelaya, 31, are also named as co-defendants.

Detectives say the company’s “Jelly” brand vapes, gummies and dabs were sold as legal hemp but tested above 1% delta-9 THC, more than three times the legal limit. The affidavit says the business took in about $16.9 million in net deposits in 2024 and $21 million in 2025 while reporting roughly $2.6 million and $3.3 million in sales to the state. In one text pulled by search warrant, Ives allegedly wrote, “who knew we could pick up the phone and sell weed nationwide one day.” After JPMorgan Chase closed the company’s accounts in November 2025, investigators say he moved $460,000 into a Vanguard account and pushed others to move company money too.

Ives, through an attorney, withdrew his company’s 32.5% stake in Not Your Bakery in June 2026, according to the affidavit. Investigators are seeking forfeiture of his Chevrolet Tahoe, a 2018 Blackfin boat and trailer, the $1.225 million Glenn Pine Lane home he co-owns with Smith, his $340,000 Briny Breezes unit and a Citrus County property. He remains held without bond on five of the money laundering charges as of early Saturday.

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