Plea deal reached in Holy Moly Donut Shop drug ring case

A plea deal has been reached in the case of a businessman linked to a popular Detroit doughnut shop that was a front for a drug ring, according to federal officials.

Court records show Victor Attisha signed an agreement this month to plead guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and possession with intent to distribute marijuana in exchange for the government dropping remaining charges.

He could face at least 60 months in prison when sentenced Nov. 4 before U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh, the Drug Enforcement Administration said Tuesday.

Attisha, whom federal officers listed in October as a registered agent of the Holy Moly Donut Shop in Detroit, and two business partners, Junior Asmar and James Shammas, were indicted in federal court last fall on drug conspiracy, money laundering and other charges.

In a statement Tuesday announcing the plea, the DEA listed Attisha as the owner of the shop.

Prosecutors allege the three men concocted a scheme to make and distribute marijuana under the guise of operating a marijuana dispensary — Unified Collective, next door to Holy Moly Donut Shop on Eight Mile — that would comply with state drug laws.

The business and dispensary, along with ATM businesses, were used to conceal drug proceeds and hide the source of the income, investigators said. The men also bought hundreds of pounds of marijuana worth more than $1 million from suppliers in California and other locations to sell in Metro Detroit, according to the government.

As part of his plea deal, Attisha must forfeit proceeds from the ring, including more than $39,000 investigators seized from Holy Moly and Unified Collective in February 2018. 

Authorities also seized hundreds of thousands of dollars from a home in Bloomfield Hills, a Hazel Park business and banks.

A lawyer for Attisha did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Asmar has been sentenced to 60 months in prison. Shammas was sentenced to 21 months, the DEA said.