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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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Agreed to cooperate with the on going investigation. His new roommates will appreciate that. They have a name for people who “cooperate.”


38

Yeah, “bottoms.” Best of luck “Helios.”


24

I and many others suspected that Adam Hill was a crook and this proves it. To those voters in District 3 who supported his reelection, now you know that you helped put a crook in office. The Los Angeles Times has even picked up this story. I also know that Mr. Dayspring was very involved in Mayor Heidi Harmon’s campaign in 2017. Don’t stop here. Keep following the money…


82

SLO County Supervisor Adam Hill dead at 54.

‘This county has lost a champion.’


By Kaytlyn Leslie, Matt Fountain, and Lindsey Holden

August 06, 2020 06:35 PM, Updated August 07, 2020 11:37 AM


https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article244787647.html#storylink=related_inline


smh. Never forget…


46

So let’s say that CCN has dropped the Adam Bomb for all to read. No thermal flash, no shock wave or mushroom cloud, just people yelling, “oh crap” and hiding behind their lawyers.


53

What happened to the investigation with Grover Beach Mayor Jeff Lee?


50

This is a top-down investigation/purge. Lee — apart from what he thinks — is small fry, and will sing without hesitation if he is not already doing so. And the bet is, he is.


Here’s a tip to the legal community — some judicial robes are being dry-cleaned today.


62

Seize all the Dayspring associated dispensaries and grows as they are a product of government assisted corruption. The ancillary investors knew Dayspring was a sketchy person to begin with, so why protect them. Was the attempted bribery reported in 2017? If not, how long did the GB Mayor conceal the crime?


61

Sweet! Now do the former Dalidio ranch debacle.


58

I seriously doubt Helios will serve a single day imprisoned he’ll pay some fines and interest along with his back taxes and it will be over with . Gotta love the Gov case with the bribed GOV employee dead …no GOV employee will be charged….This is just another GOV circus .Remember Gearhart was given a minimal sentence for over 100 million in money laundering and tax evasion let alone stealing money outright and he was released early


48

Gearhart also didn’t bribe a govt official, where the feds had standing. “Helios” (AKA “Bobby”) will spend time in federal stir. He’s nothing more than a drug-dealer, using drug-dealer techniques. He had better get himself some heavy duty knee pads.


19

Now is a good time to read this again:


A good fight- SLO County mourns the loss of Supervisor Adam Hill


41

Thank you for re-posting this example, one of hundreds of New Times’ fawning reports on this corrupt man and his antics. Peter Johnson and other NT reporters are political star-fu**ers awed by the presence of “big” people, and the “newspaper” failed its readers year after year while Helios shoved ad money at Rucker. The Trbune is no better — all the obvious facts in front of them, and crickets. Let’s not forget Hill’s whining about mental issues. I’d be messed up mentally too if I was taking bribes, violating my oath of office, and generally being a huge dick. Watch CalCoastNews — there is so much more to this story, and it is now beginning to ooze out.


96

Turns out the bully was not only corrupt, but also a coward.


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