In the wake of a wide-scale crackdown on the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office is targeting a collective allegedly owned by a former member of the R&B group B2K.

The Little Amsterdam dispensary, which looks like a residence, is allegedly operating in violation of the city's medical marijuana ordinance. (photo by Adam Popescu)

Dreux Pierre Frédéric, known by his stage name Li’l Fizz, is being targeted for his alleged co-ownership of Little Amsterdam, at 2461 South Robertson Blvd., a medical marijuana collective the city claims is operating unlawfully.

When asked about the entertainer’s ownership, representatives of Little Amsterdam said the singer has not been affiliated with the business for over three years.

“That person hasn’t been an owner for the last three years,” said a female employee who withheld her name. “We’re not giving the name of the person actually in charge because of the medical marijuana situation. I can assure you that person has nothing to do with us.”

Ownership aside, the L.A. Superior Court complaint alleges that Little Amsterdam is operating in an unauthorized zoning area, in violation of the city’s municipal and health and safety code.

Prosecutors are seeking to close the shop, and are levying a $2,500 fine for every day the dispensary’s doors have been open. The suit contends that Little Amsterdam opened on July 1, 2010, more than 470 days ago, which means almost $1.2 million in penalties. In addition, the suit also calls for another $750,000 in fines to pay for legal fees, law enforcement and investigative costs.

In addition to Frédéric, the suit alleges the businesses is co-owned by The Home of Compassion, LLC, and El Casa de la Compasion, Inc. Public records showed Brennan Williams, of Inglewood, as the registered agent for El Casa de la Compasion, Inc.

But inconsistencies with the suit and the business’ true ownership have caused confusion. A male representative of Little Amsterdam, who requested anonymity, told the Beverly Press that Frédéric has filed a defamation of character lawsuit against TMZ, who broke the story last week. He said Little Amsterdam had not been served papers by the city, and originally found out about the situation through the TMZ story. Frédéric was named in the suit because his name is still on the lease, Little Amsterdam’s spokesman said. In addition, he claimed the suit was erroneous in its history of the location, which Little Amsterdam claimed opened in 2009, not, as the suit alleges, in 2010.

Yet despite these assertions, Assistant City Attorney Asha Greenberg said whether or not the business opened before the city’s recent pot moratorium is not in-question. Little Amsterdam “was never eligible to apply for registration pursuant to the ordinance,” Greenberg said. “The start date is based on evidence available to us,” stating that the complaint may be amended if discovery reveals a different start date. “The complaint alleges causes of action against defendants that we believe own the business. As with the opening date, additional defendants will be added if warranted by discovery.”

A 2007 Los Angeles City Council medical marijuana moratorium banned the opening of new pot shops. Of the hundreds of dispensaries in business at the time, 187 registered to continue operations — the rest were forced to shut down. Many have, while some still operate illegally.

Little Amsterdam, which operates in an area with several adjacent medical marijuana dispensaries, had been looking for a new location to move to, its employees said. However, under the city’s new marijuana ordinance, medical marijuana businesses cannot move original locations — licenses have to match their original location.

Despite several other dispensaries operating in the adjacent area, and a new dispensary that just opened on the corner of Robertson and Pico Boulevard next to the live music bar “The Joint,” Greenberg cited unspecified complaints which gave this case priority.

This news comes on the heels of the Rand Corporation’s retraction Monday of a controversial report which stated that crime increased in areas adjacent to closed pot dispensaries. The report was pulled after it was revealed that data did not include any crimes reported by the Los Angeles Police Department. The highly-respected think tank relied on data from CrimeReports.com, which they mistakenly believed included information from the LAPD, yet only included data from a span of ten days before and after June 7, 2010, when the city of Los Angeles ordered more than 400 illegal dispensaries to close down as part of the city’s medical marijuana ordinance.