A former Las Vegas City Council member has been convicted of federal fraud for misusing tens of thousands of dollars in donations intended for the construction of a monument to fallen police officers. Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License photo
Oct. 4 (UPI) — A former Las Vegas City Council member has been found guilty of federal fraud for misusing tens of thousands of dollars in donations meant to build a monument to a fallen police officer.
A federal jury earlier this week found Michele Fiore guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud for carrying out a scheme to defraud charitable donors, the Justice Department said in a statement. did.
According to the Department of Justice, Fiore raised more than $70,000 from donors during his time on the City Council and promised to use “100% of the donations” to build a police memorial to fallen police officers.
Instead, the 54-year-old spent all of the money on personal and political expenses, “including political fundraising bills, personal rent payments, and payments to family members.”
A federal district judge is scheduled to sentence her next January. Fiore could face up to 20 years in prison on each charge.
Fiore’s lawyer, Michael Sanft, told reporters outside the courthouse Thursday that he plans to appeal the conviction.
Mr. Fiore represented the Las Vegas 6th District as a councilman from 2017 to 2022. He also served as a member of the Nevada State Assembly from 2012 to 2016, and then as mayor pro tempore from 2019 to 2022.
Republicans also launched an unsuccessful bid for the Nevada governor’s office in 2021.
Fiore, who was first charged in July, was a justice of the peace in Pahrump, a rural town of 44,000 people in Nye County, Nevada.
