A man accused of orchestrating a $1.5 billion illegal marijuana enterprise was allowed to post a $100,000 bond Tuesday, far below the $1 million requested by the Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office, which failed to appear at the hearing.

Hao Chen appeared in court with his attorney, Scott Adams, while the AG’s office was notably absent. Adams said the judge set the bond at $100,000 with GPS monitoring, passport surrender, and restricted travel, explaining, “The attorney general didn’t show. I showed up because they told me there was going to be an arraignment. I don’t know what happened with them.”

Court documents indicate the AG’s office had attempted to coordinate with the court in advance, calling twice to determine the date of Chen’s initial appearance. Despite these efforts, they were not on site when the judge issued the bond, allowing Chen to secure release overnight.

Hours later, the AG’s office appeared to push for a higher bond of $1 million, filing a motion in front of another judge. Adams said, “We have to then go in front of another judge and then have another bond hearing in front of the district judge who sustained the special judge’s reasoning and the ruling of the bond.”

Chen is accused of running fraudulent medical marijuana licensing schemes in Oklahoma from 2021 to 2025. Authorities say the operation involved extensive criminal activity and posed a significant risk to public safety.

The incident highlights apparent mismanagement by Drummond’s office. Despite being warned and attempting to coordinate with the court, the Attorney General failed to appear at the initial hearing, resulting in a substantially lower bond than the office argued was necessary to protect Oklahoma communities.

In a statement, Drummond expressed “serious concern” that the $100,000 bond “does not adequately protect Oklahoma communities from the man accused of leading a massive criminal operation,” but critics say the remark underscores a lack of preparation that allowed Chen to secure release with minimal restrictions.