After he was indicted on federal charges related to a South County food business, Andres Camberos learned that Chula Vista city officials would no longer allow him to participate in a cannabis business — at least within city limits.
Camberos was told to divest from his ownership share of Grasshopper Dispensary, the first legally permitted pot shop in San Diego County’s second largest city.
The cannabis license was issued to Vista Property Holdings LLC, which owns the Grasshopper Dispensary. Lawyers for the company sought an extension of that regulatory demand and secured an initial delay.
But the city declined a follow-up extension request, and the deadline for Camberos to get out of the legal marijuana business in Chula Vista is Thursday.
“On Jan. 22, 2024, the city declined to grant an additional extension,” Chula Vista spokesperson Michele Clock said in a statement. “Mr. Camberos currently has until Feb. 1, 2024 to submit the required change-of-ownership request to the city.”
The company has until close of business Thursday to show the city that Camberos is no longer part of the company that owns Grasshopper Dispensary.
Clock said late Wednesday that the city had just received a letter from the Vista Property Holdings lawyer saying the firm planned to comply with the divestment demand by the deadline.
City officials have not said how they might respond if no change in ownership is made.
“The range of possible actions that the city could take if Vista Property Holdings does not divest Mr. Camberos’ ownership is detailed in the municipal code,” Clock said by email. “These could range from a monetary penalty to license suspension or revocation.”
Camberos could not be reached for comment on the city’s order. His criminal defense attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawyer representing Vista Property Holdings did not respond to emails seeking comment on the proposed license revocation this past week.
But in November, attorney Lance Rogers said in a statement that the dispensary has successfully served the Chula Vista community for years and is committed to cooperating with the city.
At the same time, Rogers told the city his clients needed more time to prepare a proposed restructuring of the company and was awaiting further direction from the licensing staff about whether a 2023 plan would meet approval.
“If and when that prior request is approved by the city, Grasshopper will then be able to understand how best to proceed concerning Mr. Camberos’s ownership interest in Grasshopper,” the lawyer wrote in a Nov. 21 letter to the city.
Camberos was indicted by federal prosecutors last year along with his sister, Adriana Camberos.
An indictment unsealed in September accused the siblings of buying groceries and other consumer goods at a discount under an agreement that they would be sold in Mexico. But the merchandise was instead marketed in the United States, generating unfair profits, prosecutors said.
The criminal charges against Adriana Camberos, who has no ownership role in the Grasshopper Dispensary, were filed shortly after she received a last-minute commutation from former President Donald Trump hours before he left the White House in 2021. She had been convicted of fraud in a case involving counterfeit 5-Hour Energy drinks and sent to federal prison.
Her proposed commutation was sponsored by then-Councilmember John McCann, who is now Chula Vista mayor. McCann told The San Diego Union-Tribune in 2021 that he sponsored the request to the White House as a favor to Andres Camberos.
Under Chula Vista city rules, marijuana retailers may lose their license if they are charged with a crime.
City Manager Maria Kachadoorian informed Camberos last fall that he must sell his stake in the company as a result of the unrelated federal criminal charges he is facing.
According to the Nov. 21 letter Rogers sent to Kachadoorian, Andres Camberos owns 47.5 percent of the dispensary; another 47.5 percent stake is owned by David Kachi and 5 percent is owned by Zachary Lazarus.
The criminal charges against Andres and Adriana Camberos are proceeding in San Diego federal court.
