A Chula Vista cannabis licensee who was indicted earlier this year must divest himself of his interest in the dispensary or face closing the business, city officials have decided.
The decision comes months after Andres Camberos was accused by federal prosecutors of a long-running fraud unrelated to his Grasshopper Dispensary, the first legally licensed pot shop in Chula Vista.
Camberos’ sister, Adriana Camberos, also was named in the indictment, but she has no role in the marijuana business.
City Manager Maria Kachadoorian advised the ownership group, Vista Holding Co. LLC, that it would lose its license to operate Grasshopper Dispensary in Chula Vista if Camberos remains a partner in the company.
“Please be advised of the city’s intent to revoke the commercial cannabis license of Grasshopper, License No. CB22-001, if Mr. Camberos’s ownership interest in the business is not promptly divested,” Kachadoorian wrote.
The two-page letter dated Nov. 2 provides the company 60 days to file papers in response to the notice.
“Should the city not receive the required form by the deadline, the city will proceed with revocation of commercial cannabis license no. CB22-001,” the certified letter concludes.
The company has not yet formally responded to the city advisory.
But Vista Holding Co. attorney Lance Rogers issued a statement on behalf of Grasshopper Dispensary saying the company has successfully served Chula Vista-area customers for years and is committed to cooperating with the city.
“Although Grasshopper does not have any comment on the charges filed against Andres, we wish him all the best in his fight to vindicate his good name,” the statement concluded.
Andres and Adriana Camberos were named in a federal indictment earlier this year accusing the brother and sister of 11 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy and related charges.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Oct. 28 that the dispensary was facing a possible license revocation as a result of the indictments.
City officials at the time said they were reviewing what to do. The letter to Vista Holding Co. was dated five days after the story was published.
The city manager acknowledged in the letter that she only learned of the indictment, which was unsealed in September, after it was reported on by the Union-Tribune.
The charges were newsworthy because Adriana Camberos had received a commutation of her sentence for a previous conviction from former President Trump hours before he left office on Jan. 20, 2021.
The grant of leniency was sponsored by then-Councilmember John McCann.
McCann, who was elected mayor last year, said he made the request to the Trump administration as a favor to Andres Camberos.
The mayor told the Union-Tribune in 2021 that he knew Andres Camberos from high school. When pressed again last month, McCann said he had graduated from the same school but about 10 years before, and he only met Camberos while touring the marijuana store.
Adriana Camberos — who had been convicted in a fraud involving counterfeit 5-hour Energy drinks and sent to federal prison — was released from custody as a result of the Trump commutation.
According to prosecutors, however, she and her brother soon thereafter embarked on a new scheme that had the couple purchasing groceries and other consumer goods at a discount on a promise to market them in Mexico.
Instead, the complaint alleges, both Adriana and Andres Camberos sold the goods in the United States, pocketing notable profits.
Under the law in Chula Vista, city officials may suspend or revoke cannabis licenses once any licensee has been charged with a serious crime.
No conviction is required for the city to take a regulatory action against a licensee.
