Is San Luis Obispo attorney John Belsher using an alias?
December 30, 2024
By KAREN VELIE
In the latest drama regarding a $3.6 million judgement against San Luis Obispo attorney John Belsher, Belsher and his wife appear to be using aliases while living as husband and wife despite their legal separation.
In a scheme rife with fraud and deceit, Belsher bilked his clients out of millions of dollars while living a life of luxury. On May 23, Superior Court Judge Michael Kelley ordered Belsher and his partner Ryan Petetit-Wright to pay more than $3.6 million to Debra and Jeff Chase, a couple the pair defrauded of nearly $3 million they invested in four of the developers’ projects.
Three weeks after losing the court case, Jody Belsher filed a petition for legal separation from John Belsher noting irreconcilable differences, with her husband John Belsher representing her.
Even though the petition claims the couple separated on June 6, Jody Belsher posted a statement at the same time reporting she and her husband were moving together to a home they own in Michigan. However, it appears they both moved to Surprise, Arizona.
From June 6 through June 8, the couple hosted an “everything goes” estate sale at their home on El Cerrito Street in San Luis Obispo. The couple’s home was held in a trust. On Aug, 28, John Belsher signed a document disclaiming his interest in the trust, according to court records.
While John Belsher argues he is legally separated and no longer has a financial interest in their former home in San Luis Obispo, the Chases believe both the separation and the trust disclaimer are a sham to stop them from collecting the judgement.
Jody Belsher (AKA Jody Bernat), from a Pickleball player list in Arizona.
Steven Cable, a neighbor of John and Jody Belsher in Arizona, told CalCoastNews the Belshers introduce themselves as a married couple using the aliases Jon Bailey and Jody Bernat.
The couple also signed up for pickleball events using their aliases.
Under their PB Companies’ name, Belsher and Petetit-Wright borrowed money from banks and hard money lenders to fund more than a dozen projects they valued at over $300 million. Belsher also solicited his friends and clients to invest, a group that included the Chases.
On Nov. 12, a federal judge sentenced Petetit-Wright to five years in federal prison for paying bribes to former San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill in exchange for official acts in support of his and Belsher’s development projects.
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