Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We are involved in various regulatory issues, claims and lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of business, none of which, in the opinion of management, other than as described below, is expected to have a material, adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.
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Verano
On January 31, 2022, the Company entered into the Arrangement Agreement with Verano, pursuant to which Verano was to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Vireo Growth pursuant to a Plan of Arrangement. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Arrangement Agreement and the Plan of Arrangement, holders of Vireo Growth Shares would receive 0.22652 of a Verano Subordinate Voting Share, subject to adjustment as described below, for each Subordinate Voting Share held, and 22.652 Verano Subordinate Voting Shares for each Multiple Voting Share and Super Voting Share held, immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement.
On October 13, 2022, Vireo Growth received a notice of purported termination of the Arrangement Agreement (the “ Notice ”) from Verano. The Notice asserted certain breaches of the Arrangement Agreement, including claims the Company’s public filings and communications with respect to its business and ongoing operations were misleading and that the Company breached its representations to Verano under the Arrangement Agreement. Verano also claimed, as a result of such breaches, it is entitled to payment of a $14,875,000 termination fee and its transaction expenses. Vireo Growth denied all of Verano’s allegations and affirmatively asserted that it complied with its obligations under the Arrangement Agreement, and with its disclosure obligations under US and Canadian law, in all material respects at all times. The Company believes that Verano has no factual or legal basis to justify or support its purported termination of the Arrangement Agreement, which the Company determined to treat as a repudiation of the Arrangement Agreement.
On October 21, 2022, Vireo Growth commenced an action in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against Verano after Verano wrongfully repudiated the Arrangement Agreement. The Company sought damages, costs and interest, based on Verano's breach of contract and of its duty of good faith and honest performance.
On November 14, 2022, Verano filed counterclaims against the Company for the termination fee and transaction expenses described above.
On July 31, 2023, the Company filed a requisition for adjournment of its application filed July 14, 2023, and set for hearing on July 31, 2023, to compel Verano’s compliance with document production based upon the Company’s belief that Verano was engaging in tactics to delay the litigation.
Throughout 2023, the Company served 4 lists of documents, reviewed document production from Verano, and prepared for discovery.
On May 2, 2024, the Company filed a Summary Trial Application with the Supreme Court of British Columbia for summary determination. The Company sought substantial damages, specifically $860.9 million, as well as other costs and legal fees, based on Verano’s breach of contract and of its duty of good faith and honest performance.
On June 19, 2024, Verano filed a Preliminary Suitability Application seeking orders dismissing the Summary Trial Application on the basis that certain issues in the action are not suitable for summary determination.
On October 29, 2025, the Company reached a comprehensive settlement (the “Settlement Agreement”) dismissing all outstanding litigation matters between the Company and Verano that are pending before the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada. The terms of the Settlement Agreement were approved by the respective Boards of Directors of both Companies. The value of the settlement to Vireo is $9,172,587 consisting of the acquisition of $8,172,587 of real property and $ 1,000,000 in cash.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
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Information About Our Executive Officers
Information about the executive officers of the Company as of the date of the filing of this Form 10-K is set forth in the table below. A brief biography of each executive officer follows the table.
Name
Age*
Position
Dr. Kyle E. Kingsley
50
Co-Executive Chair of the Board
John Mazarakis
49
Co-Executive Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Tyson Macdonald
51
Chief Financial Officer
Amber H. Shimpa
47
President and CEO of Minnesota
Sean M. Apfelbaum
37
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
*As of the date of the filing of this Form 10-K.
Dr. Kyle E. Kingsley is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and founder, Co-Executive Chairman and a director of Vireo. Dr. Kingsley served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Vireo from July 2014 to February 2023. Dr. Kingsley has served as a director of Vireo (and its predecessors Goodness Growth Holdings Inc./Vireo Health International, Inc./Vireo Health, Inc./Minnesota Medical Solutions LLC) since July 2014, and he served as Executive Chairman of Vireo from February 2023 to December 2024. Dr. Kingsley has served as Co-Executive Chairman of the Board since December 2024. Since June 2024, Dr. Kingsley has served as Medical Director of Lite Medical PLLC. Dr. Kingsley has expansive experience in starting medical cannabis companies in well-regulated, limited-license states with narrow timelines for implementation. Dr. Kingsley has been involved with all aspects of medical cannabis implementation, from horticulture and manufacturing to finance and policy. Dr. Kingsley’s primary goal is to build mainstream, cannabis-based, alternatives to opioids, alcohol, and tobacco. Dr. Kingsley’s prior experience with opioid pain medications and alcohol in the emergency department setting was a major reason for his desire to build a science-focused cannabis company. Simultaneously with his emergency medicine staffing responsibilities, Dr. Kingsley founded and developed multiple companies including Clinical Scribes LLC, a medical scribe documentation training and implementation company, which he founded in 2007. Clinical Scribes LLC and its offshoot Medical Scribe Training Systems focus on efficient training of medical professionals, specifically medical scribes. Dr. Kingsley is the author of a wide array of scientifically robust medical scribe training textbooks, “The Ultimate Medical Scribe Handbook” series, which is used by companies across the country to train their medical scribes. Dr. Kingsley founded MedMacros LLC in 2012, a medical documentation augmentation company that provides physicians and other healthcare providers with online templates to improve documentation speed and comprehensiveness. Dr. Kingsley received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Arts degree in German from University of Minnesota in Duluth and received a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. During his time at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, Dr. Kingsley worked extensively in a biochemistry laboratory and developed expertise in HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) and other laboratory techniques that are directly applicable to the medical cannabis industry. Dr. Kingsley is married to Ms. Shimpa’s sister.
John Mazarakis has served as the Co-Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vireo since December 2024. Mr. Mazarakis is co-founder and has served as partner of Chicago Atlantic Group, LP and its affiliates since April 2019. He has served as Executive Chairman of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. since December 2021. Mr. Mazarakis served as a director of Chicago Atlantic BDC, Inc. from October 2024 to June 2025, and as director of Cansortium, Inc. from July 2023 to December 2024. Mr. Mazarakis brings to Vireo over 20 years of entrepreneurial, operational, and managerial experience in the real estate, retail, and hospitality industries.
J. Tyson Macdonald has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Vireo since December 2024. He previously served as Managing Partner at TrueRise Capital, which specializes in providing strategic financial advisory services to high-growth companies facing unique and evolving challenges in the tech and cannabis industries, Chief Executive Officer of Nova Net Lease REIT, CFO of Cloud Cannabis, and as an Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at Acreage Holdings, a multi-state operator in the cannabis industry. Mr. Macdonald has served as a director of Avant Brands Inc. since March 2024. Mr. Macdonald brings to Vireo more than 20 years of strategy and investment experience working with both start-ups and mature public companies.
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Amber M. Shimpa has served as President and CEO of Minnesota of Vireo since February 2023. Ms. Shimpa served as Chief Executive Officer of Vireo from October 10, 2024 until December 17, 2024. Ms. Shimpa served as a director of the Company from March 2019 to March 2023. Ms. Shimpa also served as the Chief Administrative Officer (“ CAO ”) for Vireo from December 2019 to February 2023, and prior to that, as Chief Financial Officer from January 2015 to December 2019. As CAO, she led Vireo’s human resources, communications, and policy teams and drove the integration of people and culture for Vireo. She works to perpetuate Vireo’s core values and culture as its workforce continues to rapidly expand. Ms. Shimpa has 15 years of experience as a financial services professional with various commercial and investment banking organizations. Prior to joining Vireo, Ms. Shimpa spent nine years as Vice President of a $1.6 billion bank focused on commercial, nationwide lending. Her experience in the highly regulated banking environment has engrained quality and control in her leadership and financial management approach. Banking is often seen as a challenge for operations within the cannabis industry. Ms. Shimpa’s understanding of the strict compliance requirements in the banking industry, coupled with Vireo’s scientific and safe medical model, have led to welcoming discussions with banks, and ultimately, the first known open banking relationship with a cannabis-related company in the U.S. Ms. Shimpa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from the University of North Dakota. Dr. Kyle E. Kingsley is married to Ms. Shimpa’s sister.
Sean M. Apfelbaum has served as the Company’s General Counsel since August 2025. Mr. Apfelbaum is responsible for overseeing the Company’s legal affairs, including corporate governance, securities law compliance, mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, regulatory matters, and commercial contracting. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Apfelbaum held senior legal roles supporting investment and financing activities, where he advised on corporate, transactional, and regulatory matters related to complex lending and investment structures. He previously practiced at Winston & Strawn from 2015 to 2018, Perkins Coie from 2018 to 2021 and Goldberg Kohn from 2021 to 2024 as a transactional attorney. Mr. Apfelbaum has held a role as a Senior Corporate Counsel at Chicago Atlantic since May 2024. His experience includes structuring, negotiating, and documenting a wide range of financing transactions and advising on legal risk management in highly regulated environments. Mr. Apfelbaum received his Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
PART II