Dispensary owner sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for bribery, tax evasion
May 28—A Central Coast cannabis dispensary owner was sentenced to just under two years in federal prison Friday after previously pleading guilty to counts of bribery and tax evasion when he tried getting favorable treatment for his business, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.
Helios "Bobby" Dayspring, 36, of San Luis Obispo appeared before Judge Andre Birotte, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District, where he was sentenced to 22 months in prison after he pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count each of bribery and subscribing to a false income tax return, according to U.S. Attorney's spokesman Ciaran McEvoy.
Dayspring pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2021 and they involved paying now-deceased County Supervisor Adam Hill about $32,000 in bribes in exchange for votes and influence affecting Dayspring's cannabis business interests.
On May 17, court documents show that Birotte approved a request by prosecutors to lower Dayspring's sentence by five months due to his cooperation in the investigation.
Dayspring owned and operated multiple cannabis farms in San Luis Obispo County and also had ownership interests in businesses that sold marijuana to the public, including in Grover Beach, according to McEvoy.
McEvoy said that Dayspring began paying bribes to Hill in the fall of 2016 and continued to do so until November 2019.
In total, Dayspring paid Hill cash and money orders equaling nearly $32,000 an in exchange, Hill voted favorably multiple times on matters involving Dayspring's business, including allowing farms to operate before they had obtained required permits, according to McEvoy.
In addition, McEvoy said Dayspring tried to bribe the current mayor of Grover Beach at the time with $100,000 in exchange for two dispensary licenses during a dinner meeting at a local restaurant in September 2017, although the mayor didn't respond to the bribe.
During a July 2020 meeting between investigators, Dayspring informed them that a Santa Barbara County official may attempt to solicit a bribe from him as he tried to open a dispensary in Orcutt, according to court records. Dayspring was directed by investigators to record the conversation, which did not show a crime was committed and the matter was not pursued, court records show.
McEvoy said that, in total, Dayspring substantially underreported personal income on his federal tax returns between 2014 and 2018, resulting in the IRS losing more than $3.4 million in tax revenue. In 2018, McEvoy said the defendant falsely reported his taxable income as $1,262,894, when it was more than $6.5 million.
Dayspring "had one goal: build a cannabis empire," Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Rybarczyk wrote in a sentencing memorandum. "To accomplish that goal, he would not let anything get in his way, including the law."
