Nevada judge who ran for state treasurer pleads not guilty to federal fraud charges

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A rural Nevada judge who ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2022 pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges accusing her of using funds raised for a statue memorializing a slain police officer for political campaign costs and personal expenses, including her daughter’s wedding.

Michele Fiore, a Republican former Nevada state Assembly and Las Vegas City Council member, declared to reporters following her brief arraignment in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas that she wants a speedy trial and looked forward to “addressing these horrible allegations head-on.”

U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts allowed Fiore to remain free without bond pending trial, which is scheduled for Sept. 26.

Fiore read from a prepared statement outside court and refused to answer questions about the indictment and her role as a justice of the peace in Pahrump. The court hears criminal and traffic matters and small claims cases.

She and her attorney, Michael Sanft, acknowledged that she was served Friday with paperwork from the state Commission on Judicial Discipline.

The commission is required by law to suspend a judge with pay if they face a felony charge. Fiore is accused of four felony counts of wire fraud and felony conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each count carries a possible penalty of 20 years in prison.

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Sanft said he will represent Fiore in the federal criminal case and in discipline commission proceedings. He said the commission had not suspended Fiore.

Fiore, 53, was appointed to the bench by Nye County lawmakers in 2022 after she lost her campaign for state treasurer. She was elected in June to complete the unexpired term of a judge who died. Pahrump is an hour’s drive west of Las Vegas.

Fiore served in the state Legislature from 2012 to 2016 and is an outspoken supporter of gun rights. She made headlines posing with guns and her family for Christmas cards in 2015. She was a Las Vegas councilwoman from 2017 to 2022 before moving to Pahrump.

She also drew national attention backing rancher Cliven Bundy and his family during and after armed standoffs between self-styled militia members and federal law enforcement officers in Bunkerville, Nevada, in 2014, and at a national wildlife refuge in Oregon in 2016.