Sentencing for SLO cannabis businessman involved in bribery postponed
The sentencing of a former San Luis Obispo cannabis business owner who pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in a bribery scheme was rescheduled to take place on April 22 instead of Friday, according to court documents filed Jan. 6.
Helios Raphael “Bobby” Dayspring, founder and former majority owner of Natural Healing Center, pleaded guilty to bribery and filing a false income tax return in October 2021. According to the plea agreement, Dayspring admitted to paying late San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill $29,000 in unreported cash payments in person with “no one else present” and “voluntarily and intentionally” under-reported his taxable income to the IRS by over $5.3 million, resulting in more than $2 million of lost tax revenue.
“During this same period, defendant also provided (Hill) cannabis products on multiple occasions free of charge and paid for multiple meals for (Hill),” the agreement said.
The agreement also ordered Dayspring to “makes his best efforts” to pay back the taxes he didn’t report to the IRS including interest — a total of $3,438,793 — at or before his sentencing.
Why Dayspring’s sentencing was postponed
On Jan. 6, Dayspring’s defense attorney Sandra Brown Boodner filed a petition to reschedule his sentencing to April, and later that day the court approved the change.
The petition stated that Dayspring has been liquidating assets to pay the nearly $3.5 million restitution owed to the IRS by the time of his sentencing, but he needs more time. It said some business and real estate sales were more complex than anticipated at the time Dayspring entered the plea agreement.
Complexities include the sale of a “significant piece of real estate,” which is expected to close this month, as well as eight other properties that are listed for sale. Dayspring is in the process of finalizing improvements to a ninth property so it can be listed for sale, the petition said.
The petition said the government is aware of Dayspring’s efforts and did not oppose giving him more time to complete the sales. The court ultimately agreed.
The maximum sentence Dayspring could serve for his crimes is 13 years in prison.
The sentencing will take place April 22 at 1:30 p.m. at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, according to court documents. It is unclear if the sentencing will be accessible via Zoom.
