Former SLO lawyer accused of ‘scheme to defraud’ has resigned from State Bar
A former San Luis Obispo real estate lawyer who faces several disciplinary charges filed by the State Bar of California, including partaking in a “scheme to defraud,” resigned from the Bar on Monday.
John Belsher has been an attorney in California since 1982. He now lives in Arizona.
He was business partners with Ryan Petetit-Wright, who was convicted of bribing late Supervisor Adam Hill to approve or sway other supervisors on real estate development projects by their company, PB Companies.
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 he was found liable by a SLO County judge for fraud and breaching his fiduciary duty as the Chases’ attorney.
On Oct. 24, the State Bar charged Belsher with 12 disciplinary 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.
Belsher denied the State Bar’s allegations.
CA lawyer’s resignation is not final
At 70 years old and no longer living in the state, Belsher said he would’ve resigned regardless of the Bar’s disciplinary actions.
“It’s time to retire,” he told The Tribune on Thursday.
However, his resignation may not mean he is off the hook for the pending administrative charges.
According to state court rules, the resignation is not effective until the California Supreme Court accepts it, based on a recommendation from the State Bar Court. If the resignation is rejected, Belsher will remain an inactive licensee and his charges will not be erased.
One of the grounds for rejecting a resignation is if the licensee and the chief trial counsel have not reached agreement on a written stipulation as to facts and conclusions of law regarding the pending disciplinary charges, the rules state.
A settlement conference in Belsher’s State Bar Court case on Jan. 7 ended after 40 minutes with the parties “unable to reach any compromise,” according to court records.
On Monday — the same day he submitted his resignation — Belsher filed a motion to abate to stay the disciplinary case, which is a legal request to pause or suspend a court case due to a procedural issue or pending related case. The motion was returned due to a clerical error and then successfully refiled the next day, Belsher said.
Belsher’s trial is scheduled to start on Feb. 18 and last six days, according to the State Bar Court docket.
Belsher said he did not have any clients left in California, but until his resignation he was representing his former wife Jody Bernat in her defamation lawsuit against Cal Coast News reporter Karen Velie. Bernat is now representing herself, though Belsher did not know if she will retain another attorney moving forward.
It’s not the first time Velie has been sued for defamation.
She was previously ordered to pay a $1.1 million libel judgment in 2017 after a jury unanimously agreed she defamed a hazardous waste contractor.
This story was originally published January 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that the motion to abate was returned due to a clerical error and then successfully refiled the next day, according to Belsher.
