California bar takes action against San Luis Obispo attorney

October 30, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

California bar investigators on Oct. 24 filed disciplinary charges against a San Luis Obispo-based attorney whose dishonest and self-serving actions damaged his clients, according to the State Bar of California.

Filings served electronically on Monday accuse attorney John Belsher of making knowingly false representations to a client as part of a scheme to defraud. The notice of disciplinary charges includes allegations of corruption, dishonesty and breach of fiduciary duties.

For years, Belsher bilked his clients out of millions of dollars while living a life of luxury. In May 2024, Superior Court Judge Michael Kelley ordered Belsher and his former business partner Ryan Petetit-Wright to pay a more than $3.6 million judgement to Jeff and Debora Chase, which led to the state bar investigation.

Under their PB Companies’ name, Belsher and Petetit-Wright borrowed money from banks and hard money lenders as they worked to develop a dozen projects they valued at over $300 million. Belsher also solicited his friends and clients to invest, groups that included Jeff and Debora Chase.

The state bar’s disciplinary charges include 12 counts:

Moral turpitude and breach of fiduciary duties

The investigator accuses Belsher of soliciting investments from the Chases while not disclosing he was also the attorney for others involved in the projects, according to count one.

Belsher then made misrepresentations and concealed material facts about the development projects to induce the Chases to invest. He also placed his personal financial interests above those of the Chases.

Moral turpitude and a scheme to defraud

Besher schemed to defraud the Chases by “acting with a self-interested and corrupt motive to personally and financially benefit himself at the expense of his clients and business partners, the Chases, when he induced the Chases to financially invest in four of his real estate development projects based upon false, misleading, and undisclosed information,” according to count two.

Business transaction with a client

Belsher’s terms for the Mission Oaks Camarillo project were not fair to the Chases, according to count three. He misled the Chases into believing that they would receive their investment and profit, a total of $1 million, within 14 months, when he knew that would not occur.

Business transaction with a client

In count four, the bar accuses Belsher of misleading the Chases about the Las Tablas Villas project, in which he promoted a deal that was unfair to the Chases.

Moral turpitude  and misrepresentations

Belsher committed an act involving moral turpitude, dishonesty or corruption in willful violation of Business and Professions Code when he gave misinformation about a project, according to count five.

Moral turpitude and dishonesty

Belsher claimed a $100,000 loan the Chases made would be secured with a recorded deed of trust. He never recorded the deed, according to count six.

Moral turpitude and dishonesty

After the Chases invested in a project, Belsher would provide false information regarding the progress of the project, according to count seven.

Business transaction with a client

As the attorney for the Chases, Belsher entered into business deals with terms that were not fair and reasonable to the Chases, according to count eight.

Moral turpitude and corruption

Acting with a “corrupt and self-interested motive,” Belsher induced the Chases to finance the purchase of a parcel of land from the Tribune, and later unbeknownst to them, transferred the parcel of land to another entity, Tank Farm Center, LLC, without their knowledge or consent, according to count nine.

Belsher then received $300,000 for the Tribune parcel, which he gave to his daughter and his son-in-law for a down payment on a home in San Luis Obispo, according to court records.

Business transaction with a client

Belsher put the Chases into the Junction project, another business transaction that was not fair or reasonable to the Chases. He falsely assured the Chases the project would close right away, according to count 10.

Moral turpitude, deceptive and oppressive acts

In inducing the Chases to invest in the Junction project, Belsher engaged in deceptive and oppressive acts, including that strong financial partners were involved in the project while not divulging that his partner Petetit-Wright was battling criminal charges, according to count 11.

Failure to report judgment

Even though Belsher was required to inform the  state bar within 30 days of any judgement that found fraud, deceit or breach of fiduciary duty, he failed to report the 2024 Chase judgement, according to count 12.

Belsher has 20 days to respond to the allegations.

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