A federal grand jury has indicted Michele Fiore — a former Las Vegas city councilwoman and current Nye County justice of the peace — on four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after she allegedly defrauded donors of more than $70,000 for personal gain.

A Wednesday press release announcing the indictment said Fiore, a Republican, had solicited donations during her time as a city councilwoman to honor police officers killed in duty, promising that “100 percent of the contributions” would be used to fund the creation of a statue memorializing the officers. However, the funds never paid for a statue and were allegedly used by Fiore to pay her political fundraising bills, rent and for her daughter’s wedding, among other purposes. 

If Fiore is convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count.

Fiore did not immediately respond to a phone call or voicemail about the indictment.

The indictment indicates that from at least July 2019 through July 2020, Fiore solicited donations on behalf of a charity that she controlled that purported to use the donations to fund construction of a statue or another memorialization of Las Vegas Metropolitan police officers Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo, who were killed in the line of duty in June 2014.

Fiore allegedly made the requests for donations while knowing that a private real estate development company had signed a contract with the sculptor who created the statue and agreed to pay for it in 2019. A timeline outlined within the indictment indicates that Fiore falsely told the sculptor when the statue was unveiled in 2020 that the city had paid for the statue with discretionary funds.

The indictment alleges that an unnamed relative of Fiore served as a conduit to hide the stolen money by receiving payments from a charity and PAC controlled by Fiore and then spending the funds to benefit Fiore and those involved in the fraud scheme.

Using campaign finance reports, the indictment shows donations were transferred from the charity and political action committee to her relative. One example from July 16 shows a donor writing a check to Fiore’s political action committee to fund the Alyn Beck statue. Three days later, the report showed Fiore transferred $5,000 from the political action committee to the unnamed relative, who then used the money to pay for Fiore’s rent.

Information surrounding the grand jury is not made public until the indictment is released because grand jury proceedings are secret, allowing witnesses to speak freely without fear of retribution. A press release from the Department of Justice said that the FBI Las Vegas Field Office is investigating the case.

During a grand jury, a prosecutor presents evidence to the jury members via witnesses and documents. Defendants usually do not testify during the process or respond to the evidence provided, and jury members decide via a majority vote whether or not to issue an indictment. Typically, grand jurors hand out an indictment, but the law does require members to find probable cause that a crime was committed.

Fiore, who was elected outright in the June primary to another term as a Nye County justice of the peace, has a long political history in Nevada. She served two terms in the state Assembly and made national headlines for her zealous support of firearm rights and championing the cause of anti-government rancher Cliven Bundy.

This is not the first allegation of financial misconduct Fiore has experienced. While running for state treasurer in 2022, Fiore faced allegations of violating campaign finance law accusing her of taking donations exceeding the state’s $10,000 maximum contribution limit and benefiting from a potential “straw donor scheme.”

Fiore later amended her campaign finance reports, acknowledging her involvement in a previously undisclosed business and revising the campaign donations that would have exceeded the $10,000 donation limit, alongside other changes. However, reporting by The Nevada Independent indicated that discrepancies remained.

The story was updated on 7/17/2024 at 10:00 a.m. to include details from the indictment.