Intiva BioPharma Inc., a Glendale, Colo.-based medical cannabis company, said Jeffrey Friedland resigned as the company's CEO.
Friedland, also a board member of the company, will be replaced by Intiva's chief strategy officer, Alain Bankier, on an interim basis.
The resignation follows a complaint against Friedland in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the SEC, Friedland engaged in a $7 million securities fraud scheme to conceal the nature of his interest in Israeli medical cannabis company OWC Pharmaceutical Research Corp.
Friedland purchased 1.3 million shares of OWC Pharmaceutical in 2014 and was on the company's advisory board, a position he recently relinquished.
Friedland also received another 5.1 million shares of OWC Pharmaceutical as compensation for a two-year consulting agreement, which expired in February.
OWC Pharmaceutical said it was already aware of both transactions and that it was not affected by the SEC's complaint.
