Gov. Joe Lombardo was among the donors allegedly defrauded by former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore, who is now facing criminal charges for using contributions intended to honor fallen police officers for her own personal gain.
Federal prosecutors indicted Fiore last month for allegedly defrauding an anonymous public official who wrote a $5,000 check to her PAC on July 16, 2019, to help fund a statue honoring Alyn Beck, a Las Vegas police officer killed in the line of duty five years earlier. That same day, Lombardo, who was the Clark County sheriff at the time, donated $5,000 through his campaign account to a PAC affiliated with Fiore.
A Lombardo spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests to confirm the connection but provided a statement from Lombardo issued after the indictment that said it is “my hope that complete justice and accountability are established through this investigation and its resulting legal process.”
Fiore and her lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
Fiore has been charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for allegedly rerouting $70,000 in donations for the fallen police officer statues to instead pay her political fundraising bills, rent and for her daughter’s wedding, among other purposes.
She pleaded not guilty and has since been suspended from her current position as a Nye County justice of the peace. Her criminal trial is set to begin next month after she exercised her right to a speedy trial.
Robert Langford, a Las Vegas defense attorney, said Lombardo could be compelled to testify in the trial, but that an official with Lombardo’s campaign account could also be an appropriate witness.
“It may be that they don’t actually need the sheriff,” Langford said. “I think you could get away with an accountant saying ‘on such and such date, I cut a check into that fund.’”
Langford was also skeptical that the trial would begin as scheduled, citing the time needed for Fiore’s team to prepare its case.
Fiore and Lombardo were among the officials who celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony of a park honoring Beck in December 2018, during which she proposed the idea of erecting a statue of Beck at the park entrance.
Seven months later, Lombardo — referred to in the indictment as “Donor A” — made the donation “for the sole purpose” of building the Beck statue, the indictment claimed.
Shortly after, Fiore transferred $5,000 from her PAC to an account run by an anonymous co-conspirator, a relative of hers who was allegedly directed by Fiore to purchase money orders to cover rent at her personal residence, according to the indictment.
The next month, a private real estate development company reached an agreement with the sculptor of the statue to pay for all project costs, an arrangement that Fiore was aware of, prosecutors said. Before the statue’s unveiling in January 2020, Fiore falsely told the sculptor that she had appropriated city funds to cover statue costs, the indictment said.
Other donors
Three other donors were allegedly defrauded by Fiore. Their identities are unknown, but the indictment referred to them as an out-of-state resident and two attorneys living in Nevada.
These donors allegedly made contributions to “Charity A,” a nonprofit formed in 2019 by Fiore and her co-conspirator that The Nevada Independent identified as A Bright Present Foundation. The nonprofit never filed federal tax returns, causing its tax-exempt status to be revoked. State business records also show that the nonprofit was voluntarily dissolved in 2021.
In a letter in October 2019, Fiore had asked donors to contribute to the nonprofit, with the hopes of raising $80,000 for the Beck statue and another $80,000 for a statue honoring Igor Soldo, another officer killed in the line of duty. She promised that all contributions would be “used for this charitable event.”
Past issues
Fiore is no stranger to headlines. A firebrand conservative who served two terms in the state Assembly before being elected to the Las Vegas City Council in 2017, she made national news for her zealous support of firearm rights (she once sold a gun-themed calendar) and championing the cause of anti-government rancher Cliven Bundy.
In 2014, she was removed as the Republican majority leader in the Assembly for insubordination and her handling of a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service regarding unpaid payroll taxes for her home health care business. Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman also sued Fiore for allegedly creating a hostile workplace and physically attacking her.
Fiore entered the crowded GOP primary for Nevada governor in 2022, during which she attacked Lombardo as not being a “real Republican,” citing his vaccination mandate for new police officers and position on firearms. Fiore, who said Lombardo would not survive the primary, eventually dropped out and narrowly lost a bid for state treasurer.
During her bid for state treasurer, Fiore faced allegations of violating campaign finance law for taking donations exceeding the state’s $10,000 maximum contribution limit and benefiting from a potential “straw donor scheme.”
Her PAC also gave more than $150,000 to her daughter’s event planning company from 2018 to 2020.
