IANAL, but there is nothing illegal about an investor with a felony record, and there is nothing illegal about having an employee or board member that has a fel

IANAL, but there is nothing illegal about an investor with a felony record, and there is nothing illegal about having an employee or board member that has a felony conviction. Now with that said, in the case of moral turpitude charges (i.e. fraud, theft, etc..) there could be some push back from investors or the board if the individual is going to have a say in operations or a seat on the board. There could also be pushback if the charge was business related (i.e. they stole from a previous employer, were involved in a investment scheme). In this case though from what you say, a drug charge, no convictions since, with that much time since conviction, I personally wouldn't even worry about it. If you know the individual well, are willing to go to bat for that individual, and it is a problem for someone else, that is their problem and probably not worth your time fighting over to convince them otherwise. At the friends/family stage though, this level of concern is even further reduced in my opinion.