A Siskiyou County cannabis farmer and his sister have been sentenced for trying to bribe former Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey. 36-year-old Chi Meng Yang of Montague and his sister, 36-year-old Goasheng Laitinen, met with Sheriff Lopey seven times in 2017, as Yang presented himself as a representative for several families of marijuana cultivators. He offered to pay the Sheriff for the law enforcement protection of his cannabis plots. He also wanted deputies to serve other growers with violation notices to pressure them to join his protection racket. Sheriff Lopey contacted the FBI and the DEA, and meetings with Yang were recorded to be used in his prosecution. When the final meeting occurred on August 31st of 2017, state and federal agents raided all eight of Yang’s properties and destroyed 1,168 growing plants. Laitenen pleaded guilty a week before the trial. Yang was convicted in federal court in March. Yang was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 6 years in federal prison. Laitinen was sentenced to time served and a $50,000 fine.