The feds charged  Helios Raphael Dayspring, a.k.a. “Bobby Dayspring,” 35,  with one count of bribery and one count of subscribing to a false 2018 income tax return that deliberately failed to report millions of dollars in income to the IRS. The federal prosecutors charged Dayspring with bribery for paying a county supervisor approximately $32,000 – most of that in cash – in exchange for the supervisor's votes and influence on other votes affecting his cannabis business interests. Federal prosecutors also filed a plea agreement in which Dayspring agreed to plead guilty to both felony offenses, pay $3.4 million in restitution to the IRS, and cooperate in the government's ongoing investigation.

            Dayspring owned, operated, and/or had a controlling interest in multiple farms that grew cannabis in San Luis Obispo County. He also had ownership interests in businesses that sold marijuana to the public, including in Grover Beach. To further his interests in the farms that grew cannabis in San Luis Obispo County, Dayspring began paying bribes to a San Luis Obispo County supervisor in the fall of 2016 and continued doing so through November 2019. In total, Dayspring paid the late Third District supervisor multiple bribes in cash and money orders totaling $32,000. In exchange, the supervisor voted on matters affecting Dayspring's farms, including voting multiple times in favor of legislation that permitted Dayspring's farms to operate before it had obtained final permitting approvals.

            In addition to bribing the San Luis Obispo County supervisor, Dayspring admitted in his plea agreement that he and his business associate attempted to bribe the then-mayor of Grover Beach in exchange for two dispensary licenses in that city. The attempted $100,000 bribe took place during a dinner meeting in September 2017. The mayor did not respond to the offer, and Dayspring did not pay the bribe.

            Dayspring also admitted that he substantially underreported his personal income on his federal tax returns for the years 2014 through 2018, which resulted in the IRS losing more than $3.4 million in tax revenue.