In a federal trial, Michele Fiore was found guilty of donor fraud

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – A jury on Thursday found former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore guilty of all charges in her federal fraud trial.

A Nye County judge was found guilty of six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She pleaded not guilty.

Jurors in a federal fraud trial heard closing arguments Thursday morning before beginning deliberations at 12:45 p.m. It took jurors less than two hours to agree on a verdict.

Fiore’s sentencing is scheduled for January 6 at 1:30 p.m. Each charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Judge Jennifer Dorsey began Thursday’s proceedings by denying a motion by Fiore’s defense that would have acquitted Fiore of five of the seven counts. She concluded that the government had sufficient evidence to support presenting these charges to a jury for consideration.

Background

Prosecutors accuse Fiore of earmarking money for charitable and political purposes into her own accounts and then spending it on expenses such as living expenses, plastic surgery and paying for her daughter’s wedding.

Much of the state’s argument involved Fiore soliciting donations for a memorial honoring fallen Las Vegas police officer Alyn Beck. Prosecutors say the memorial has already been paid for with funds set aside by the city for Alyn Beck Memorial Park.

Closing arguments: impeachment

Federal prosecutor Alexander Gottfried focused on three issues in his closing argument.

1. Did the accused make false promises?
2. Did these promises influence donors to part with their money?
3. Did the accused intend to deceive them?

According to Gottfried, Fiore lied to donors by sending them fliers, emails and conversations about how the money would be used.
For example, prosecutors showed the jury an October 2019 solicitation that one donor testified prompted her to donate money to the cause. Prosecutors also pointed out that the address on the flyer where donors could send money was Fiore’s home address. One of the flyers shown in court was allegedly sent four days after the dedication of the Alyn Beck statue.

Reviewing a sample of bank statements, Gottfried also found that the largest recipients of donor funds were Fiore’s daughter, Sheena Siegel, and her daughter’s company, Hamlet Events.

Watch: Darcy Spears denies cheating allegations against Michele Fiore:

The fraud runs deep: Federal prosecutors bring fraud charges against Michele Fiore

He also emphasized that money was disappearing from Fiore-related accounts as quickly as it was coming in, and that little, if any, money was being saved to potentially pay for the statue. For example, on January 16, a check from the Fiore A Bright Present Foundation for $2,500 cashed. On the same day, money orders in the amount of $2,450 were sent to Fiore’s owner.

“If she thought she was raising money for a statue, why isn’t she saving money to pay for a statue?” Gottfried said. “She knew from the beginning that someone else would cover all or part of the cost, so she never had to worry about it coming up.”

He said the August 2019 agreement indicated that Olympia Companies intended to cover 100% of the statue’s costs. At one point, the city of Las Vegas offered to pay half the amount, and Gottfried claims Fiore was at those meetings and knew about the funding for the memorial.

“When politicians do something that they think will improve their image, they will do something to broadcast it from the rooftops. They want to take credit and make people think they’re doing a good thing,” Gottfried said.

Closing arguments: defense

Fiore’s attorney, Michael Sanft, mentioned the FBI’s search of Fiore’s home and said the government conducted an improper search, which is how it found evidence like the subpoena.

“It is our most important law enforcement body. Even they can make a mistake. Even they can be negligent,” Sanft told the jury.

Sanft also pointed out that when law enforcement gets permission to search someone’s home, they rarely come back with nothing and hope to find something that will confirm what they told the judge they might find. He added that the jury must rely on the FBI’s word as to the contents of everything they took in the search.

Watch: Michele Fiore Claims The FBI ‘Rabbed, Ransacked and Robbed’ Her Home During a Search:

Fiore claims the FBI “raided, ransacked and robbed” her home during the search

As for Olympia’s deal for the monument, Sanft argued that many people were involved in the decision, such as Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman. Sanft said there should have been some document containing discussions about the statue, but said no evidence was produced at the trial.

Sanft cited the testimony of Governor Joe Lombardo. He gave the example of when Lombardo decided to run for governor, he took unused funds and donations from his sheriff’s campaign into his gubernatorial campaign. He said it was basically the same as Fiore.

He also mentioned that Lombardo stated that he was a victim. Sanft, however, said the money donated to the memorial did not belong to him and came from the Lombardo For Sheriff campaign, which included donor money.

“He donated other people’s money,” Sanft said. “If it was truly a personal matter, he would have taken out his own wallet and put money in that statuette, not donors’ money. He is not a victim.”

Watch: “You are not telling the truth” – Michele Fiore tells reporters after the hearing:

Testimony of Fiore’s daughter stricken from the trial records, Fiore did not take a position

Prosecutors disagreed with Sanft’s argument regarding Lombardo’s testimony.

“There is a big difference between taking leftover political money and using it for charity and taking money from a charity and using it for plastic surgery,” Gottfried said in his remarks.

They also disagreed with Sanft’s claim that the FBI conducted an improper search of the home. Prosecutor Dahoud Askar said there was no indication that any procedure other than the appropriate one was followed.

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