In 1988, Harju County Court sentenced Meelis Lao to a suspended prison term for unlawfully taking away someone's freedom.

[1] In 1997, the Helsinki District Court sentenced him to an eight-month suspended prison term for smuggling 18,000 liters of spirits into Finland.

[6] Despite these allegations, Lao became involved in Estonian politics, actively fighting alongside Mõis to maintain the Tallinn ruling coalition.

His methods are successful, and Lao is not called a public relations specialist without reason," characterized Mõis.In 2005, Meelis Lao faced charges of trespassing when, at a McDonald's restaurant on Viru Street, he intervened in a dispute between tenants and owners (represented by OÜ Tartelone, represented by Janar Stint, and Fixor Invest) over a lease agreement for commercial premises at Valli 2/Viru 24/Müürivahe 38.

[13] In 2019, Meelis Lao, accused of aiding in unlawful deprivation of liberty, reached an agreement with the State Prosecutor's Office.

According to the State Prosecutor's Office's charges, the accused, Siim Kossar, Mark Raul Laanela, and Viktor Tiuliukov, detained a 42-year-old man in November 2017.

The victim was repeatedly beaten, threatened, and subjected to physical abuse of himself and his family, demanding a payment of one million euros.

Mark Raul and Viktor were charged with extortion committed in a group, on a large scale, and involving deprivation of liberty.

[14] In December 2020, the State Prosecutor's Office brought a criminal case to court, accusing Meelis Lao and three other men of illegal handling of firearms and ammunition, as well as arson of a vehicle.