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Marijuana mogul charged with bribing SLO County supervisor

July 28, 2021

Former supervisor Adam Hill glaring at a CalCoastNews reporter, photo by Daniel Blackburn

By KAREN VELIE

Prosecutors charged marijuana mogul Helios Dayspring with paying thousands of dollars in bribes to then-San Luis Obispo Supervisor Adam Hill for favorable votes on his cannabis business interests.

Prosecutors charged Dayspring, 35, in federal court with one count of bribery and one count of filing a false 2018 income tax return that deliberately failed to report millions of dollars in income to the IRS. Dayspring agreed to plead guilty to both felony offenses, pay $3.4 million in restitution to the IRS, and cooperate in the government’s ongoing investigation.

Dayspring is the majority owner of three approved retail pot shops and multiple large marijuana grows in San Luis Obispo County, as well as many cannabis businesses in other counties in California.

To further his interests in the farms that grew cannabis in San Luis Obispo County, Dayspring began paying bribes to Hill in the fall of 2016 and continued doing so through November 2019.

In total, Dayspring paid Hill multiple bribes in cash and money orders totaling $32,000, the Justice Department said in a press release. In exchange, Hill voted on matters affecting Dayspring’s farms, including voting multiple times in favor of ordinances that permitted Dayspring’s farms to operate before he had obtained final permitting approvals.

“In addition to bribing the San Luis Obispo County supervisor, Dayspring admitted in his plea agreement that he and his business associate attempted to bribe the then-mayor of Grover Beach in exchange for two dispensary licenses in that city,” according to prosecutors. “The attempted $100,000 bribe took place during a dinner meeting in September 2017. The mayor did not respond to the offer, and Dayspring did not pay the bribe.”

Dayspring also admitted to cheating on his federal tax returns for the years 2014 through 2018, which resulted in the IRS losing more than $3.4 million in tax revenue.

SLO Mayor Heidi Harmon and Helios Dayspring

As part of his plea agreement, Dayspring agreed to surrender in this case and make his first appearance in United States District Court in Los Angeles on August 25. Once he pleads guilty to the bribery and tax charges, Dayspring will face a statutory maximum penalty of 13 years in federal prison.

The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter, which is part of an ongoing public corruption investigation in San Luis Obispo County.

Investigators are asking anyone with  information related to this case or any other public corruption matter in San Luis Obispo County to send information to the FBI’s email tip line at pctips-losangeles@fbi.gov or to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.

In 2016, CalCoastNews first reported allegations Hill was asking marijuana business owners to pay bribes in return for favorable votes. For years, CalCoastNews exclusively reported about Dayspring’s alleged bribery, tax evasion, illegal cannabis sales and property fraud.

At CalCoastNews we believe in unbiased, non-partisan investigative journalism. In order to increase coverage of issues such as corruption and bribery, Cal Coast News needs to increase staffing, but that takes money.

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Interesting that an attempted bribe took place during a dinner meeting with John Shoals. Who goes out to dinner with someone that is trying to get a dispensary license? Fishy…


59

The same guy who cheats on his wife, and ultimately has to move away to escape the heat.


36

Well, they had the munchies :)


33

Hopefully they dig up what happened in Morbid Bay, dayspring was at the bottom of the pile of applicants for a dope shop in town but some how got elevated to the top of the heap I believe by the city manager, but a couple on the council had been at the Christmas party at daysprings a couple years ago when funds were handed out.


69

Dayspring should not be allowed to benefit from any of his ill gotten gains from these bribes. In other words, all his pot shops need to be immediately shut down and liquidated. He should also be forced to pay a large settlement to the Coastal Dance and Music Academy in Grover Beach that he ran out of business. (see previous CCN article https://calcoastnews.com/2020/01/grover-beach-pot-shop-runs-dance-studio-out-of-business/ )


99

So the article states that the Mayor of Grover Beach didn’t accept a bribe!!!

But didn’t he vote to allow the pot shop, that in the end, ran the dance studio out of business?


58

LA Times article says Dayspring said GB mayor ‘was pushing for a bribe’ prior to their 2017 dinner.


21

Let’s hope this is the first of many who deserve to have their lies, misdeeds and criminal behavior uncovered and exposed for all to see.

Let the sun shine and the rats turn on each other as they try to save their own necks, pensions, and political seats.

This is a very good day, and to CCN a huge thank you for working hard to bring us the truth about these dirty rotten scoundrels.


81

The Tribune, KSBY, etc. Where were you? smh.


77

Where were they? Turning an intentional blind eye and whatever else it takes to prop up and push their favorite Dems, that’s where! For years now they have failed to report any significant news, especially when it comes to their preferred politicians.

And don’t forget who appears regularly in The Trib…Tom Fulks, major player in the local dirty Dem party, hired gun for Bruce Gibson, friend to Adam Hill, Ellen Beraud, Jimmy Paulding, etc.


51

The photo begs the question — just how dirty is Harmon and will she and her campaign manager, Quinn Brady actually go to federal prison for their crimes?


83

Yep, it does. Remember, there are criminal bribes, like the cash delivered to Hill, and plain ordinary everyday “legal” bribes, like campaign cash. Dayspring threw a fundraiser for Harmon, Carlyn Christianson and Erica Stewart, all of whom took his dirty money. They too need to be tarred with this. Any decent pol would have refused his dirty coin.


43

Every single politician and fundraiser he held NEEDS to be carefully scrutinized. You could never convince me it was only ONE politician he bought. This was a successful pattern of behavior for him. The Feds will go after only those they can prove, but we know that likely there are others… SLO City Council influencers, wherever he needed a shop set up. I think there are a lot of pigs feeding at this trough.


78

You’re next, Heidi.


133

If my last name was Lee, Shoals, Harmon, Belsher, Petetit, and Grossman, I would seriously be sh***ing my pants right now. And as for the Liebune and all the other slimy Bloggers and Columnists who brutally attacked anybody who accused Adam of bribery, you should all burn in hell. You no longer have any credibility. Your enablement of Adam’s misdeeds ultimately led to his worsening depression and eventually, his death. HIs blood is on your hands. Adam should have been put away a long time ago along with all the other lowlifes mentioned above. Excellent reporting Karen, let’s see how Copycat Matt from the Liebune spins this one to make it look like he uncovered the story.


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