Andrew Daniel Nash, the founder of cannabis cash management company El Capitan Advisors, is described by former associates as an alleged con artist who siphoned millions of dollars from his own cannabis industry clients to fund his lifestyle after his initial plan to bring banking services to the sector collapsed. This is the third installment of a year-long investigation for CRB Monitor News, which uncovers years of deception and misconduct by the Santa Barbara businessman across multiple cannabis ventures. And according to sources, the alleged grift isn’t over.
Nash’s latest targets appear to be affluent women he meets through dating apps. According to at least one witness, Nash uses a false last name on Hinge to prevent potential matches from discovering his alleged financial misconduct and ongoing civil fraud litigation. Nash who currently list his parents one-bedroom condo in Santa Barbara as his residence, was divorced by his wife, Jaime Nash, last year after news of his alleged ponzi-like scheme came out in litigation by Snoop Dog’s V.C. firm Casa Verde and publicly traded cannabis company Planet 13. Women who dated Nash afterward told this reporter he continued to claim involvement in cannabis investments, yet often struggled to pay for dates, citing “credit card issues” or delays in accessing cash.
Nash dating app photo
In one dating app photo, Nash appears polished and confident. But according to a witness who requested anonymity for safety reasons, he was stopped and questioned by U.S. border authorities this fall upon returning from a personal trip. The reason for the stop remains unclear.
Nash most definitely needs to be banned for life as a registered investment advisor, according to nearly everyone who ever worked with him.
The SEC has told multiple people its investigation is wrapping up but it’s unclear if the DOJ will charge him criminally. A felony wire fraud charge for allegedly misleading investors while raising new capital seems like a possible criminal charge if you read through my CRB Monitor News reporting over the the last year. But Nash also boast he currently has a buddy working in the Trump administration and given the DOJ’s newest view on white collar crime doesn’t mean anyone needs to go to jail, we all know how that could work out.
An out-of-state cannabis regulator who has been watching the Planet 13 litigation in California state court told this reporter, “Andrew Nash is a conman, but other bureaucrats won’t do much to put an end to his BS.”
Nash who now represents himself in the civil litigation has not returned calls and emails for comment.
UPDATE June 2025: Andrew Nash was finally charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 4, 2025, and wasted little time settling. The resolution came with a roughly $3.4 million civil penalty — a figure that, in the context of the alleged conduct, looks more like a negotiated exit fee than a meaningful deterrent. Collection is another question entirely. These cases often end with headline penalties that are never fully recovered, particularly when assets have already moved or been shielded.
What stands out just as much as the size of the penalty is what’s missing. There were no parallel criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice. That absence raises the obvious question: was this simply a civil clean-up, or is there a tolling agreement in place preserving DOJ’s ability to act later? In some settlements, defendants effectively agree to pause the statute of limitations, giving prosecutors optionality if new evidence emerges or cooperation breaks down. If that framework exists here, it would mean Nash isn’t necessarily in the clear — just in a holding pattern.
For the market, the takeaway is familiar. Another enforcement action where the timeline drags, the penalty lands light relative to the allegations, and the criminal side either lags or never materializes. It’s not just about whether fraud occurred — it’s about how much accountability ultimately follows – which we didn’t see play out for Nash just yet.
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