Flavio Ferrarino of Connecticut sports a pair of weed socks during Denver's annual 4/20 festival at Civic Center Park on Sunday, April 19, 2015. (AAron Ontiveroz, Denver Post file)

Man sold dirty socks in pot ruse; now he’s going to prison for fraud

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By The Associated Press

ADRIAN, Mich. — A man who tried to sell a backpack of dirty socks as marijuana has been sentenced to at least one year in a Michigan prison.

Michael Suarez was sentenced Thursday for committing fraud through false pretenses. An unarmed robbery charge was dropped.

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Police say Suarez was pursuing a marijuana deal in July when he showed up at a home in Lenawee County’s Raisin Township. But instead of carrying pot, he had a backpack stuffed with dirty socks.

Police say a purse with $2,800 was stolen from the home. Suarez and others were stopped after speeding through a stop sign.

Defense attorney John Glaser says the “false pretenses” were the dirty socks. Suarez will be eligible for parole after a year in prison. His maximum sentence is 7½ years.