Former Member of Las Vegas City Council Charged in a Plot to Defraud Charitable Organizations
One of the former members of the Las Vegas City Council has been indicted for what the Department of Justice has described as an alleged plan to defraud charitable organizations.
Michele Fiore, who is 53 years old, reportedly sought money in order to construct a statue that would memorialize Las Vegas police officers who were slain while on the job, according to a news release issued by federal investigators.
According to a statement released by the Department of Justice (DOJ), “Fiore allegedly promised donors that ‘100% of the contributions’ would be used towards the creation of this statue.” “As alleged, Fiore did not use any of the tens of thousands of dollars in charitable donations for the statue of the fallen officer and instead converted the money to her personal use.”
According to the Department of Justice, funds were instead utilized to cover rent and expenditures related to Fiore’s political fundraising efforts. According to the Department of Justice, monies were also moved to members of Fiore’s family at the same time that they were used to pay for the wedding of Fiore’s daughter.
While stressing that an indictment is “merely an allegation” and reminding people that “all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Fiore is being charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud.
“If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count,” according to the US Department of Justice.
The Las Vegas Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is conducting an independent investigation.
