A federal grand jury has indicted former Las Vegas city councilwoman and gubernatorial candidate Michele Fiore on charges she allegedly defrauded donors to a charity to memorialize police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
According to the indictment, Fiore, a then-Las Vegas city councilwoman, solicited donations to build a statue honoring Las Vegas police officers who were killed in the line of duty. 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. The donations were used to pay her political fundraising bills and rent and were transferred to family members, including to pay for her daughter’s wedding.
The 53-year-old is charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count.
Fiore is currently Nye County Justice of the Peace.
The FBI Las Vegas Field Office is investigating the case.
"Now that these accusations have been made, I look forward to my day in court and have faith in our judicial system," said Fiore in a statement released to 2 News Nevada. "I hold my oath of office sacred and have consistently strived to serve my community with integrity and to the best of my ability."
(The Department of Justice contributed to this report.)
