Michele Fiore was found guilty of donor fraud in the federal trial

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A jury found former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore guilty on all counts in her federal fraud trial Thursday.

The Nye County judge was found guilty of six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She had pleaded not guilty.

Jurors in the federal fraud trial heard closing arguments Thursday morning before beginning deliberations at 12:45 p.m

Fiore is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 6 at 1:30 p.m. Each count carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Judge Jennifer Dorsey began the proceedings Thursday by rejecting a motion from Fiore's defense that would have acquitted Fiore of five of the seven charges. She stated that the government had enough evidence to support the jury's presentation of these allegations.

background

Prosecutors accuse Fiore of transferring charitable and political money into accounts for her personal use and spending it on things like living expenses, plastic surgery and paying for her daughter's wedding.

Much of the state's argument included Fiore's appeal for donations for a memorial statue honoring fallen Las Vegas police officer Alyn Beck. Prosecutors say the statue was already paid for with funds the city allocated to Alyn Beck Memorial Park.

Closing argument: prosecution

Federal prosecutor Alexander Gottfried concentrated his closing argument on three questions.

1. Did the defendant make false promises?
2. Did these promises persuade donors to part with their money?
3. Did the defendant intend to defraud her?

According to Gottfried, Fiore lied to donors by sending them flyers and emails and having conversations about how the money would be used.
For example, prosecutors showed jurors a solicitation letter from October 2019 in which a donor said she induced them to donate money to the cause. Prosecutors also pointed out that the address on the flyer where donors could send money was Fiore's home address. One of the flyers shown in court was allegedly sent four days after the Alyn Beck statue was dedicated.

In reviewing a sample of bank records, Gottfried also found that Fiore's daughter, Sheena Siegel, and her daughter's company, Hamlet Events, were the largest recipients of donations.

Watch: Darcy Spears breaks down the cheating allegations against Michele Fiore:

The deception runs deep: Federal prosecutors are charging Michele Fiore with fraud

He also pointed out that money was leaving Fiore-related accounts as quickly as it was coming in and that little, if any, money had been saved to potentially pay for the statue. For example, on January 16, a check from Fiore's A Bright Present Foundation for $2,500 was cashed. Money orders for $2,450 were sent to Fiore's landlord that same day.

“If she thought she was raising money for the statue, why isn't she saving money to pay for the statue?” Gottfried said. “She knew early on that someone else would cover all or part of the costs, so she never had to worry about the costs.”

He said an August 2019 contract shows Olympia Companies would cover 100% of the costs associated with the statue. At some point, the city of Las Vegas had offered to pay half, and Gottfried argues that Fiore attended those meetings and knew about the statue's funding.

“When politicians do something that they think will make them look good, they do something to shout it from the rooftops. They want to take the credit and make people feel like they are doing a good deed,” Gottfried said.

Closing arguments: Defense

Fiore's attorney, Michael Sanft, brought up the FBI's search of Fiore's home, saying the government conducted an improper search and found evidence like the demand letter.

“This is our premier law enforcement agency. They too can make a mistake. They can be sloppy too,” Sanft told the jury.

Gentle also pointed out that when law enforcement gets permission to search a person's home, they rarely come back with nothing and hope they find something that confirms what they told a judge. He added that the jury would have to rely on the FBI's testimony regarding the contents of everything they took during the search.

Watch: Michele Fiore says FBI 'ransacked, looted and robbed' her home during search:

Fiore says the FBI “ransacked, looted and robbed” her home during the search.

When it came to Olympia's contract for the statue, Sanft argued that several people were involved in the decision – for example, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman. Gentle said there should be some sort of paper trail showing discussions about the statue, but he says none was provided during this process.

Gently brought up Gov. Joe Lombardo's statement. As an example, he cited that when Lombardo decided to run for governor, he used unused funds and donations from his sheriff's campaign for his gubernatorial campaign. He said that was basically the same thing Fiore did.

He also mentioned that Lombardo stated that he was a victim. However, Sanft said the money donated for the statue was not his and that it came from the Lombardo For Sheriff campaign, which included donor money.

“He donated other people’s money,” Gentle said. “If it was really a personal thing, he would have taken out his own wallet and put the money into that statue, not the donors' money. He is not a victim.”

Watch: 'You don't understand the truth,' Michele Fiore tells reporters after court:

Fiore's daughter's statement struck from trial transcript, Fiore takes no stand

Prosecutors disagreed with Sanft's reasoning about Lombardo's testimony.

“There is a big difference between taking leftover political money and using it for charity and taking money from a charity and using it for cosmetic surgery,” Gottfried said in his remarks.

They also contradicted Sanft's statement that the FBI conducted an unauthorized search of the home. Prosecutor Dahoud Askar said there was no indication anything other than due process was followed.

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