Former Nye County police captain pleads guilty to wire fraud

A former Nye County sheriff’s captain accused of abusing his power and making a false arrest pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to felony wire fraud and misdemeanor deprivation of rights charges.

David Boruchowitz, 44, was set to go to trial March 24 on charges of wire fraud, perjury and deprivation of rights under the color of law. He was indicted in 2023 by a federal grand jury and accused of arresting Valley Electric Association CEO Angela Evans for his own gain.

The charges followed a 2022 Las Vegas Review-Journal investigation that raised questions about Boruchowitz’s investigation of Evans around the same time he helped form a group trying to unseat the utility’s leadership and had considered running for a paid position on the Valley Electric Association’s board.

During a court hearing Wednesday afternoon, Boruchowitz admitted he schemed to defraud Evans while acting as a police officer and depriving her of her rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

“Guilty, your honor,” Boruchowitz said when U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon asked how he was pleading to the charges.

Boruchowitz’s attorney, Crane Pomerantz, declined to comment following the hearing. Boruchowitz also declined to speak to a reporter, saying, “I have no comment.”

Federal prosecutor Steven Myhre told the judge that he would not be seeking a prison sentence for Boruchowitz. Instead, prosecutors and Boruchowitz’s attorney will recommend that he be sentenced to probation, which is expected not to exceed three years.

Acting U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada said in a news release that Boruchowitz violated residents’ rights.

“It is the duty of all law enforcement to protect and serve the community,” Fahami said. “Instead, the defendant violated his oath and abused his power.”

Prosecutors intend to argue for Boruchowitz to face one year of home detention, but the police captain’s attorney can argue for no home detention restrictions, Myhre said during the court hearing.

The judge will have the final say on Boruchowitz’s sentence, and Boruchowitz will not be able to withdraw his guilty plea if the sentence differs from the guilty plea agreement.

Boruchowitz could have faced up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge and up to a year in prison for the misdemeanor deprivation of rights charge.

Evans could not be reached for comment, and her attorney in a civil case against Nye County, Andre Lagomarsino, declined to comment.

Boruchowitz retired from the Nye County Sheriff’s Office late last year. He is receiving nearly $72,000 a year in Public Employees’ Retirement System pension, records show.

State law allows for public officials convicted of certain crimes to lose their pensions but only if they started in the system after 2015, when the law passed.

Charges dismissed

In December, Gordon dismissed four wire fraud charges that Boruchowitz faced, ruling that prosecutors had not shown evidence establishing that Boruchowitz schemed to obtain a utility board position, deprive Evans of her job or obtain property from her.

But after prosecutors appealed the decision, Gordon decided last month that he would allow the government to pursue a single wire fraud charge against Boruchowitz on the allegation that he schemed to obtain a board position.

“In its motion, the government finally substantively addresses the relevant issues in a way it had not previously done in its briefs or at oral argument,” Gordon wrote in court documents.

Prosecutors argued in their motion that Boruchowitz intended to “trick board members into resigning” over Evans’ arrest, which was an interpretation of the indictment that had not previously been stated, Gordon wrote.

Boruchowitz’s attorneys originally argued for the wire fraud charges to be dismissed because the police captain did not obtain money or property through arresting Evans.

Settlement with county

When Evans was arrested, she was accused of using about $80,000 in VEA resources to move a power pole off her property. But property records showed that Evans didn’t own the property when the utility’s staff moved the pole.

Then-Nye County District Attorney Chris Arabia declined to file charges against Evans.

Evans lost her job after her arrest and sued both Nye County and Boruchowitz, alleging that the police captain caused her “indescribable mental anguish and emotional pain.” The lawsuit ended in December 2023 with a $400,000 settlement.

Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI Las Vegas Division said in a written statement that no individual is above the law, but the FBI previously investigated Boruchowitz and no charges were brought.

The Review-Journal investigation had previously revealed that Boruchowitz was being investigated by state and federal agents for holding porn matinees at the sheriff’s department and continuing inappropriate relationships with parolees. The state and federal investigations were turned over to then-Sheriff Sharon Wehrly, who did not impose significant punishments but instead repeatedly promoted Boruchowitz, who supported Wehrly in her political campaigns.

Wehrly lost her re-election bid after the Review-Journal stories ran about Boruchowitz and an unrelated failure by deputies to arrest an impaired driver who subsequently killed three members of an Idaho family. She died in 2023 after a battle with cancer.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Newberg is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.