Disgraced cannabis mogul loses storefront permit in San Luis Obispo
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The City of San Luis Obispo has revoked a cannabis operator permit for a company founded by Helios Dayspring, the businessman who admitted to bribing a SLO County official in order to influence votes affecting his cannabis businesses.
The City announced Wednesday that Natural Healing Center's operator permit has been terminated due to false or misleading information on the application.
The business is no longer allowed to conduct business in the city, effective immediately. The city allows only three cannabis retail storefronts in the city. Natural Healing Center was awarded one of the coveted permits, but has yet to open its retail store.
“Natural Healing Center would never have received the permit had we known then what we know now,” said Deputy City Manager Greg Hermann. “We are committed to a fair and transparent process that provides a level playing field for legal commercial cannabis companies here, but operators who participate in illegal activities are not welcome in San Luis Obispo.”
The city sent a letter to the business on Wednesday informing the company of the decision.
Natural Healing Center was founded by Helios Dayspring who has pleaded guilty in Federal Court for bribing late SLO County Commissioner Adam Hill. An investigation by the County of San Luis Obispo found that at least two votes made by Hill were directly influenced by the bribes.
Dayspring submitted false or misleading information to obtain the permit, which the city says automatically disqualifies the application, which resulted in the terminated permit. Specifically, the city said Dayspring attested he had never spent money for illegal purposes of evaded taxes. He has since admitted to federal investigators of doing both.
Natural Healing Center has the opportunity to respond to the city's determination if it so chooses, Germann said.
Dayspring stepped down as CEO of Natural Healing Center in August 2020, but was still co-owner as recently as this summer. As reported by the San Luis Obispo Tribune, Dayspring appears to have transferred most of his business holdings to his girlfriend.
The company's website still lists San Luis Obispo and Turlock as the home of future storefronts. It's unclear if the Turlock location will move forward.
In previous reporting, Natural Healing Center was identified as the company looking to transform Orcutt's Old Town Market into a retail cannabis storefront. Natural Healing Center sued Santa Barbara County after its plans failed to make the final round of the county's selection process.
Dayspring's cannabis cultivation projects in northern Santa Barbara County face the possibility of being shut down due to environmental violations.
At the time of his guilty plea, the United States Department of Justice said Dayspring would cooperate with what it is calling an "ongoing public corruption investigation" in San Luis Obispo County. The status of that investigation is unknown.
