UPDATE: Pahrump judge Michele Fiore faces federal wire fraud charges
A Nye County judge and former Las Vegas councilwoman is facing federal charges of wire fraud and conspiracy after authorities accused her of raising more than $70,000 for a fallen officers memorial and spending it on herself.
Michele Fiore, 53, of Pahrump was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas. The charges relate to a fundraising campaign she conducted as a councilwoman, authorities said.
“I am deeply disappointed to have learned through the media that the federal government has indicted me for my service as a city councilwoman in 2019,” Fiore said in a statement late Wednesday.
Fiore was on the council from 2017 to 2022. She is currently a justice of the peace in Pahrump Justice Court.
A former state assemblywoman, Fiore also previously served as a Nevada GOP national committeewoman, and in 2022 she ran an unsuccessful campaign for state treasurer.
In June 2014, Metropolitan Police Department officers Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo were fatally shot by a man who hoped to start a revolution.
The Las Vegas City Council decided the following year to name a new park for Beck, which would be in Ward 6, the district Fiore represented when she was elected. In 2018, when the city broke ground on the park, Fiore proposed creating a statue of Beck, the indictment said.
A company not named in the indictment agreed to pay for the statue, but Fiore told the sculptor that she had appropriated discretionary money from the city for it, according to the indictment. Brian Hanlon was the sculptor.
Authorities said Fiore used the project to raise money through a charity and political action committee between July 2019 and January 2020. She told donors the money they gave would pay for the statue or another memorial project, but that wasn’t how the money was used, prosecutors 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 Department of Justice said in a news release. “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.”
Gov. Joe Lombardo was present at the park’s opening in 2020 when he was Clark County sheriff.
“I’m aware of the serious charges against Michele Fiore related to her time as a city councilwoman,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. “It’s my hope that complete justice and accountability are established through this investigation and its resulting legal process.”
Fiore served in the Nevada Legislature from 2012 to 2016, garnering national media attention during her tenure. She was appointed to the bench in Pahrump in late 2022.
A clerk with the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline said Wednesday that the agency is aware of the federal indictment against Fiore but that “by law, we’re prohibited from commenting any further on the matter.”
Pahrump Justice Court administrator Alisa Shoults said she had not heard about the indictment but that Fiore was scheduled to hear cases Wednesday.
A courtroom baliff denied a Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter access to Fiore’s courtroom while she was on the bench Wednesday morning.
Las Vegas attorney George Kelesis said he represents Fiore but declined to comment on the indictment.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal previously reported that the FBI was investigating Fiore’s campaign finances. The Justice Department said the FBI’s Las Vegas office is investigating the case.
Fiore is scheduled to make her initial appearance in the case on Friday. She faces four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
“This indictment has been years in the making and has profoundly impacted my life, the lives of my adult children and grandchildren, my friends, and especially my constituents,” Fiore said in her statement. “This is unacceptable.”
She also said she has faith in the judicial system and looks forward to her day in court.
This story is an update.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X. Review-Journal staff writer Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.
