San Luis Obispo developer facing bank fraud charges, appeal denied

August 11, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo developer Ryan Wright is facing bank fraud and money laundering charges in addition to the 21 counts he is already fighting. He remains incarcerated in a federal jail in Los Angeles after losing another attempt to be released on bail, according to court documents.

In June 2024, federal prosecutors informed Wright and his attorney “that it was likely that they would file additional tax charges along with additional access device fraud charges, bank fraud charges and money laundering charges” in late July or the first half of August, according to court documents.

FBI agents arrested Wright on Oct. 30, 2023. Prosecutors allege Wright and his partner and co-conspirator John Belsher’s business, PB Companies, allegedly paid nearly $100,000 in bribes and gifts to former San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill.

After learning he was a target of a FBI corruption investigation in 2020, Wright began promoting a proposed development in Texas. He then solicited funds from investors with the promise the monies would be used to pay costs related to the acquisition and development of the property.

Wright, however, spent large portions of the investor funds on criminal attorneys working on his corruption case.

Shortly before his 2023 arrest, Wright attempted to secure an approximately $20 million dollar loan for the proposed Texas development project.

Days before a bank located in California was scheduled to mail a $19 million check Wright secured for the proposed project, federal investigators informed the bank that they planned to arrest Wright, according to the loan officer who asked to remain anonymous. The bank did not send the check and FBI agents arrested Wright a few days later.

Wright loses appeal, remains incarcerated in a federal jail in Los Angeles.

On four separate occasions, federal judges have denied Wright’s requests to get out of jail on bail because proposed funds appear tainted, risks he will flee, and concerns for public safety.

At the start of his June bail hearing, Wright’s attorney Gerald Salseda reminded the judge that they were not supposed to include evidence not previously considered by the court. Salseda, however, failed to keep the recent finding of fraud in a civil case from impeding Wright’s attempt to get out of jail.

Salseda than agreed with prosecutors that the $100,000 bond Wright offered appeared tainted, before saying he wanted to withdraw the proposal. Instead, Salseda argued Wright should have been released on bail “from day one.”

Judge Percy Anderson did not agree, noting Wright’s extensive foreign travel, failure to be candid about his assets and criminal history supported his pretrial incarceration.

On June 24, Salseda filed a notice of appeal regarding Anderson’s ruling.

On July 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found the district court “met its burden of showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that ‘no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure Wright’s appearance,’ and that appellant therefore poses a risk of flight.”

The appellate court also agreed “that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community.”

After learning of the pending charges, Salseda asked that the trial date be extended from Oct. 29, 2024 until no earlier than Oct. 28, 2025, according to court records.

“Wright is in custody,” Salseda wrote in his Aug. 9 request. “I have advised Mr. Wright of his speedy trial rights, and he would like the case continued no less than 12 months even if it means he remains in custody so that the defense can be prepared for trial. Due to the eight-year length of time the government has been investigating this case, …., and the volume and complexity of discovery that keeps coming, the defense believes that a trial on the current trial date would not be in the interest of justice.”