PC: AP News
Fiore assured donors every contribution would fund police memorials
A fundraising campaign intended to honour two Las Vegas police officers killed in the line of duty became the centre of a federal fraud case after more than $70,000 raised from donors was spent elsewhere. Michele Fiore, a former Las Vegas city councilwoman who also ran as a Republican candidate for governor of Nevada, was convicted by a federal jury in October 2024. Fiore specifically represented that 100% of the money collected would go towards the statues, according to evidence presented during the trial. More than $70,000 was eventually collected. In October 2024, jurors found Fiore guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud. Fiore was 54 at the time of her conviction and was living in Pahrump, Nevada.
The appeal was directed at people willing to support a project honouring officers who had lost their lives in the line of duty.
Prosecutors said she had assured contributors that every dollar would go towards building memorials for the fallen officers. The promise was an important part of the fundraising appeal, according to the US Department of Justice. However, prosecutors said none of the charitable contributions was used to build the memorials.
Instead, the money went towards expenses unrelated to the project, including personal bills and political costs. The case raised questions about how donations collected in the name of public service were handled. Fiore’s fundraising efforts centred on plans to construct statues commemorating two Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers who had died while serving. At the time, she was a member of the Las Vegas City Council and used her public position to solicit contributions for the proposed memorials. Donors were given assurances that their contributions would be used entirely for the memorial construction. People contributing to the campaign believed they were helping establish permanent tributes to the officers rather than providing financial support for Fiore’s personal or political activities. The case went before a federal jury in the District of Nevada. The verdict followed a trial in which prosecutors relied on court documents and evidence concerning the fundraising campaign and the subsequent use of the contributions. The charges related to the scheme through which donors were persuaded to send money based on representations about the construction of the police memorials.
Before the case, she had served on the Las Vegas City Council and had also pursued a campaign for Nevada governor.