Fiore suspended with pay from judge duties following Trump pardon

Pahrump Justice of the Peace Michele Fiore has been suspended indefinitely with pay until a final ruling can be made in other complaints against her, a state panel ruled Monday.

Fiore was issued a full and unconditional pardon from President Donald Trump on April 23 after she was found guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud charges by a federal jury in October, and charges were officially vacated ahead of her May 14 sentencing. She was accused of raising tens of thousands of dollars for a statue honoring Metropolitan Police officer Alyn Beck, who was shot and killed, along with his partner, in 2014.

But the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline voted unanimously on Monday in favor to punish Fiore, noting she will remain suspended until other complaints against her are heard. Though a presidential pardon may close a criminal case related to an ethical complaint against a judge, Fiore is not precluded from the commission considering ongoing conduct as it may relate to the determination of a potential violation of judicial conduct, the commissioners found.

Fiore’s “continuing deceit of the charitable donors and her unjust enrichment at the expense of the slain police officer statue harms the public’s perception of the judicial system and its confidence in the system’s legitimacy,” the seven-member panel found, adding that Fiore’s pardon “undermines her ability to impose justice and to apply the law fairly.”

Paola Armeni, an attorney for Fiore, declined to comment. Fiore couldn’t be reached for comment.

Fiore had argued that her conduct in question occurred before she became a judge and should therefore be disregarded, the commission wrote. Still, evidence showed that Fiore had “continued to defraud donors by keeping donations” even after becoming a judicial officer, and that she has provided no evidence to suggest she has paid back defrauded victims or intends to repay them.

“The evidence of Respondent’s dishonesty and retention of funds maintained under false pretenses ‘reveal[s] a current, emergent threat to the judiciary,’ and required the commission to impose interim suspension ‘to protect against anticipated future harm to the public’s perception of the judicial system,’ ” the commission wrote.

Fiore had previously been suspended without pay since being convicted in her criminal trial. But commissioners wrote in Monday’s seven-page decision that the criminal matter against Fiore was closed and that states, generally, cannot punish an offender for a conviction that was pardoned.

Attorney Michael Sanft, who represented Fiore at trial, had argued that Fiore did not intend to benefit herself, but that her actions were part of her work as then-Las Vegas city councilwoman.

Fiore, throughout the ordeal, has remained defiant, claiming in a statement after her pardon that she “endured relentless persecution by a federal machine determined to break” her.

Armeni has previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that after her client was pardoned they believed the pardon removed the basis for suspending Fiore.

“Obviously, we’re grateful,” Armeni said of Trump’s pardon.

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X. or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky. Review-Journal staff writer Noble Brigham contributed to this report.