VENTURA, CA - District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Christopher Morgan Gilcrest (DOB 05/08/64), of Lancaster, pleaded guilty to one felony count of grand theft, two felony counts of conspiracy, and one misdemeanor count of false advertising related to his online Ventura County based nursery stock business “Growquest Growers.” This case was the result of a joint investigation between the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner's Office, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), and the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

Gilcrest had been illegally operating a Web-based nursery supply company called “Growquest Growers” in Ventura County that sells and delivers rose bushes, citrus and olive trees, ladybugs and other nursery items online. Gilcrest sold nursery stock without a valid license, failed to comply with agriculture rules and quarantines, and took customers payments without actually providing them with any product. The Tri-Counties Better Business Bureau received hundreds of complaints from all over the United States over the course of the last three years. The quarantine regulation violations posed a serious threat to California’s multi-billion dollar agricultural industry.

Gilcrest will be sentenced on June 24, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. in Department 14 of the Ventura Superior Court. He is expected to receive 365 days in the Ventura County jail, serve 60 months formal probation, and pay restitution to the named victims. Under the terms of his probation, Gilcrest will be prohibited from engaging in the agriculture or horticulture business, and will not be allowed to sell nursery stock.