He said he spent millions transitioning into the legal cannabis market. Dayspring also acknowledged filing a tax return in 2019 that reported his taxable income as $1,262,894 when it in fact exceeded $6.5 million, the agreement says. Here, he stands next to drying hemp plants to be used for biomass and CBD oil, in a 2019 photo. When you think about who has to scramble, Helios might be the hardest worker and will need this deserved rest. In July this year Dayspring spelled out how he conspired with Megan Souza, Eric Powers, and Nick Andre in NHC SLO LLC vs City of SLO (case #21CV-0734) to fraudulently obtain all three SLO City cannabis store permits. Click here to read Helios Daysprings complete plea agreement. The issues involved are complex and the profits are huge. And Eric Powers and Megan Souza are the friendly phoney faces on the criminal organization. Since Dayspring was not deemed a flight risk and apparently since he had already paid the IRS the millions of back taxes, he was permitted to leave the courtroom, go home, and self-surrender to start serving his prison sentence near summers end on Aug. 26. . Dayspring, who is a graduate of Morro Bay High School, operated a number of cannabis operations in San Luis Obispo County and elsewhere in California, mostly under the name Natural Healing Center. Processing Helios Dayspring, a cannabis entrepreneur, was sentenced Friday to 22 months in prison for bribing a public official and filing a false tax return. The bribes to Hill allegedly began in fall 2016 and continued through November 2019. While all the offenses for which he was sentenced occurred in S.L.O. The FBI is still investigating the matter as part of what it calls an ongoing public corruption investigation in San Luis Obispo County.. Matthew Ormseth is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Bets are on that Daysprings first lawyerthe one who (according to Dayspring) encouraged the bribes to the county supervisor, would not have been Daysprings lawyer had Dayspring asked the right questions before engaging in the corrupt behavior. Daysprings supporters friends, family members, employees, business partners submitted many testimonials on his behalf, painting him as kind, courageous, and generous when it comes to animals and the less fortunate. Agents also searched a Pismo Beach home and an undisclosed third location on the same day. Processing Even though cannabis production and distribution is legal in California, it remains illegally federally. Use this page here to login for your Independent subscription. Anyone with information about this ongoing cannabis fraud should email [email protected]. Count One charged federal bribery and Count Two charged that Dayspring intentionally under-reported his business income on his federal tax returns. But even though some criminal defense lawyers and family lawyers have cannabis-related law practices, and some refer to themselves as cannabis lawyers, they are not generally equipped to provide quality regulatory and transactional services to the cannabis operator. On the way to the restaurant, the business partner told Dayspring that Shoals wanted a bribe in exchange for the permits. Helios Dayspring's workers transporting immigrant women to a grow in Tepusquet Canyon in Northern Santa Barbara County. About a year before Helios Dayspring would plead guilty to felony charges of bribery and tax evasion, an attorney for the cannabis businessman sent an email to San Luis Obispo city officials. At another dinner in Pismo Beach, Dayspring said he picked up the tab and passed Hill an additional $5,000 in cash after they finished eating. Once he pleads guilty to the bribery and tax charges, Dayspring will face a statutory . Dayspring described himself as a poor child, the youngest of six kids and child of a single mom who never knew his father. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Their law firms also have the personnel resources (to include support staff) to excel in the morass of licensing and regulatory hurdles. But as he acquired hundreds of acres of land to grow . While they were eating, the mayor got up to use the restroom and Daysprings business partner said this was their chance to offer the bribe, the agreement says. Shoals was one of two city council members on a subcommittee that oversaw cannabis dispensary permits. Psychologically seared by his early abandonment, Dayspring wrote, he learned at an early age not to trust anyone whose loyalty couldnt be bought and paid for. The attempted $100,000 bribe took place during a dinner meeting in September 2017. The recommended range for his crimes under federal sentencing guidelines is between 33 and 41 months, and prosecutors have agreed to ask for a sentence at the low end of that range, if Dayspring continues to cooperate with authorities and follow the restrictions of his plea deal. Its not far-fetched to believe that the feds are watching what is happening at a towns city council, board of supervisors, or zoning commission. He took another $5,000 in cash as well as cannabis products in early 2018. In September 2017, Dayspring, an unnamed business associate and Shoals referred to only as Mayor 1 met at a restaurant in Arroyo Grande. When news broke last month about the explosive charges that late San Luis Obispo County 3rd District Supervisor Adam Hill took bribes from local cannabis magnate Helios Dayspring, SLO County Democratic Party chair Rita Casaverde's instinct was to issue a swift public statement condemning Hill's alleged misconduct. Dayspring has been charged with bribing late supervisor Adam Hill and faces up to 13 years in prison. Daysprings downfall is a warning to all. Success! In addition, Hill who once worked for former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley voted to keep new operations that might compete with Daysprings from gaining a toehold in San Luis Obispo. Subscribe to our free P.M. Report to receive the days headlines weekdays at 4:15 p.m. Cannabis operators, who alreadyat day oneare conducting a business that is federally illegal, cannot afford to engage in conduct that is additionally criminal. It adds insult to injury to add political corruption and failure to pay back taxes to the mix. Gavin Newsomappointed Dawn Ortiz-Legg to fill the District 3 seatin November 2020. By 2013, Dayspring was supplying an estimated 30 legal dispensaries in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, his attorney wrote. The nature of the warrants was unknown at the time, as they were under seal. In November 2017, the Board of Supervisors was weighing whether to offer certain growers an exemption, or abeyance, to a moratorium on cultivating marijuana on unincorporated county land. Dayspring admitted to underreporting more than $3.4 million on his personal income on his federal tax returns for four . As of 2019, Dayspring also owned 18 properties in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties where he either grows marijuana or was planning to cultivate it,he told The Tribune at the time. Brown attributed some of the blame to Daysprings prior lawyer, as well, for suggesting that Dayspring bribe the county supervisor, advice that Brown described as not just incorrect, but frankly illegal.. You might also like our free A.M. Report. Caught dead-to-rights, Dayspring entered a plea deal where even though he agreed that he under-reported $6.5 million of cannabis business proceeds for a single year (2018), he had to accept criminal responsibility and promise to pay four years of back taxes totaling just under $3.5 million. In the end, his efforts to secure the loyalty of politicians would do him in. For 2018, for example, he reported taxable income of $1.26 million when his actual income was more than $6.5 million. Thursday, July 29th, 2021. Hill then solicited more bribes; he was given $3,000 in 2016 and $5,000 in 2017, the filing says. Mrozek said he could not comment on whether Shoals cooperated in the investigation or reported the bribery attempt. Dayspring did this, his plea agreement states, with the understanding that, as opportunities arose, Hill would vote in favor of permits and legislation benefiting Daysprings cannabis farms and dispensaries; lobby other public officials in support of such legislation; and give Dayspring non-public information regarding cannabis issues before the county government. His health is a question given that gut. Extension of timeframe seems reasonable and probably no one else in until everyone has been deemed complete., Dayspring responded that Hill was the man., On Dec. 12, 2018, Hill told Dayspring by text that the board approved the extension, to which Dayspring replied, Thank God . Former Natural Healing Center CEO and Founder Helios Dayspring (PHOTO from The Lemoore Leader) On Wednesday, the Department of Justice revealed that San Luis Obispo resident and Natural Healing Center founder Helios Dayspring plead guilty in federal court to bribery and failing to report millions in income to the IRS. Gov. By Tony Biasotti Thursday, July 29th, 2021. They exchanged numerous text messages about their arrangement, sometimes during board meetings, Daysprings plea agreement states. Dayspring had one goal: build a cannabis empire, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. Defendant wanted to convey to (Shoals) that (Dayspring) and business partner 1 were prepared to pay $100,000 to (Shoals) if ( Shoals) used (his) official position to secure two cannabis dispensary permits for Dayspring and his associate, the filing says. Tight on Time: Can Canadas Licensed Producers Hang On? Ciaran McEvoy At another Board of Supervisors meeting in March 2019, Hill texted Dayspring during a series of straw votes regarding the proposed banning of all outdoor cultivation, which would have severely impacted Daysprings businesses. 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At an event in October 2016, Dayspring gave Hill three separate $1,000 money orders, which Hill deposited into his personal account. Surely, the judge took that fact into consideration when imposing Daysprings 22-month sentence under federal guideline sentence. Helios Raphael Dayspring, the founder of the Natural Healing Center, which has shops in Grover Beach and Morro Bay, has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charges, pay $3.4 million in . Resist the temptation to engage in such conduct. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas F. Rybarczyk of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case. Its a sad day for everybody., Arnold said, this news brings closure to a long investigation.. According to federal prosecutors, from fall 2016 to 2019, Dayspring paid the . He will face a maximum sentence of 13 years in federal prison. The city later awarded Dayspring a single permit. According to the court documents, Dayspring owned, operated, and/or had a controlling interest in multiple farms that grew cannabis in San Luis Obispo County. Cannabis businessperson Helios Dayspring entered formal guilty pleas to federal criminal charges, apparently ending a lengthy corruption saga involving multiple marijuana companies and local California officials.. That was Ryan Petetit who changed his name to Ryan Wright. A locked padlock Prosecutors often call tax charges, the easy low-hanging fruit because once a targets expenditures are compared with the income reported, if the disparity is extreme the feds are likely have an easy-to-prove tax prosecution. Once the IRS is aboard a federal criminal investigation, it becomes easier for the prosecutor to get copies of the targets federal tax returns without a court order. The authorities also discovered that $5,000 cash from Dayspring had been provided to the birthday celebrant. San Luis Obispo County marijuana mogul Helios Dayspring was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison on Friday afternoon by U.S. District Court Judge Andr Birotte in Los Angeles. Keeping sloppy books or two sets of books or no booksor, certainly, not reporting all cannabis income can result in federal criminal tax charges. Natural Healing Centers was founded and owned by Helios Dayspring, . In September 2017, after those permit applications had been submitted Dayspring and one of his business partners had dinner with Shoals at a restaurant in Arroyo Grande. From 2016 to 2019, Dayspring paid S.L.O. That happened here with Dayspring. Whoops! In 2017, Grover Beach began accepting applications for cannabis dispensary permits. Marijuana mogul Helios Dayspring pleaded guilty to one count of bribery and one count of filing a false tax return on Friday in U.S. District Court for the . Keep up with Noozhawk's daily news coverage, delivered at 4:15 a.m. right to your inbox. Shoals did not accept the payment. An official website of the United States government. California marijuana mogul Helios Dayspring - who pleaded guilty last year to charges of bribery and tax evasion - reached a settlement with a former business partner in a civil legal dispute involving multiple cannabis companies. The Tribune has reached out to Shoals for comment on Daysprings charges. (David Middlecamp / San Luis Obispo Tribune photo), Helios Dayspring opened his first SLO County Natural Healing Center cannabis dispensary in Grover Beach in 2019. Please reload the page and try again. Thu Aug 12, 2021 | 12:01am. One of Daysprings current lawyers, Sandra Brown, herself a former Central District federal prosecutor, spoke on Daysprings behalf at the sentencing hearing. In December 2018, Dayspring and Hill discussed the importance of having (Hill) and other county supervisors approve the continued abeyance on enforcement action and how a lapse in the abeyance would affect his cannabis farms.. Helios Raphael Dayspring, a.k.a. The filing adds that Dayspring and Hill held a political fundraiser at Hills home where $13,000 was raised in June 2019. There, townspeople run into each other more frequently and have more daily opportunities to interact with the local level officials who are making licensing and zoning decisions. The mayor, however, didnt respond to Daysprings offer and no bribe was paid, the plea agreement says. 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