State Bar accuses SLO real estate lawyer of ‘scheme to defraud.’ Here’s why
The State Bar of California filed several disciplinary charges, including partaking in a “scheme to defraud,” against a San Luis Obispo real estate attorney who was business partners with the man convicted of bribing late Supervisor Adam Hill.
John Belsher has not been charged with any criminal violations relating to his business dealings, but he was ordered to pay a $3.6 million judgment to former investors Jeffery and Deborah Chase after San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Michael Kelley found Belsher was liable for fraud and breaching his fiduciary duty as the Chases’ attorney.
Belsher was business partners with Ryan Petetit-Wright, who was convicted of bribing Hill to approve or sway other supervisors on real estate development projects by their company, PB Companies.
Belsher told The Tribune in an email that the State Bar filed the notice of disciplinary charges against him in response to a complaint filed by Jeffrey Chase, who Belsher described as “a disgruntled investment partner and successful Silicon Valley controller/CPA.”
The document, filed on Oct. 24, accused Belsher of 12 separate counts, including breaching his fiduciary duty, corruption, scheming to defraud and dishonesty. The Bar’s “charges” are an administrative process and are not considered a criminal or civil court.
He denied the allegations both in the State Bar complaint and in the judgment. He added that he and the Chases reached a “comprehensive settlement agreement,” which included him giving up his right to appeal the judgment and the ordered sale of his San Luis Obispo home, ending a seven-year court battle. A document notifying the court that the judgment has been satisfied was filed on Sept. 9, court documents show.
Belsher told the Tribune he was planning to retire by the end of this year and is now residing in Michigan.
“It is unfortunate that Jeff Chase and the State Bar insist on pressing this new administrative process concerning the license of a retiring lawyer,” he said.
Belsher said both he and Jeffrey Chase “took similar risks with respect to real estate development projects in SLO County,” adding that the projects Chase invested in were “successful” because the projects were built and running, which included the SLO Public Market at Bonetti Ranch, Las Tablas Villas in Templeton and the Junction Project on Santa Barbara Road.
Belsher told the Tribune there will be plenty of opportunities for settlement and alternative resolutions in the administrative process the State Bar started by filing the violation document. He said he plans to contest the charges, and he must have a response filed within 20 days after Oct. 24.
He added that he planned to have all his legal matters resolved by the end of this year — including whether to pursue a defamation case against Cal Coast News reporter Karen Velie, who he claims has published several defamatory stories about him.
His former wife, Jody Bernat, sued Velie for defamation in February, and Velie previously was ordered to pay a $1.1 million judgment in 2017 after a jury unanimously agreed she defamed a hazardous waste contractor.
Attorney accused of corruption and ‘scheme to defraud,’ State Bar document shows
The California State Bar filed 12 alleged disciplinary charges against Belsher, the document showed: four counts of business transaction with a client, two counts of dishonesty, one count of breach of fiduciary duty, one count of scheme to defraud, one count of misrepresentations, one count of corruption, one count of deceptive and oppressive acts, and one count of failure to report a judgment.
According to the document, the bar alleged Belsher breached his fiduciary duties when he “misled” the Chases into investing in real estate development projects that Belsher knew or should have known would not deliver the promised results in the specified time frames. It also accused Belsher of not providing documents with written disclosures that Belsher had personal, professional and financial interests in the real estate projects the Chases invested in prior to their investments.
The bar accused Belsher of “acting with 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 on false, misleading and undisclosed information.”
Belsher allegedly engaged in acts of deceit, misrepresentation and concealment from 2013 to 2018 by falsely stating positive business projections and status updates he knew or should have known to be untrue, the bar said in its filing.
Belsher also should have advised the Chases to seek advice from an independent attorney of their choice and did not obtain their consent in writing the terms of various business transactions, the document said.
Specific misleading statements Belsher allegedly made to the Chases included knowingly making false assertions of when building for Las Tablas Villas would take place, when the Chases should expect to see their returns on that project, claiming permits were “essentially” approved when no permits or plans for the project were approved, and falsely claimed a local lender committed to lend $2.1 million for the project.
The State Bar charges also claimed Belsher “intentionally acted with a corrupt and self-interested motive to the detriment of the Chases” from 2013 to 2016 when he convinced them to finance the purchase of land formally owned by The Tribune and later transferred the land to another entity without their knowledge or consent. When the sale did occur, Belsher allegedly did not provide reimbursement or profits to the Chases, the document said.
Other alleged “deceptive acts” committed by Belsher toward the Chases included claiming the Junction project was “going to close right away” when he knew it would not, assuring the Chases that other strong financial partners were joining the project despite Belsher knowing it was untrue, and not informing the Chases that his business partner, Ryan Petetit-Wright, was facing legal charges that would affect the management of PB Companies.
Belsher also failed to notify the State Bar that a judgment was entered against him in the civil case filed by the Chases. The bar requires attorneys to self-report judgments filed against them within 30 days of the time the attorney had knowledge of the judgment.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
