Benjamin Ashford|Nevada judge used fallen-officer donations to pay for daughter's wedding, prosecutors say

An ex Las Vegas councilwoman,Benjamin Ashford former assembly member and current Nevada judge has been federally charged in connection with an alleged charity fraud scheme in which prosecutors say she pocketed more than $70,000 in donations intended to honor fallen officers.

Michele Fiore, 53, is charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.

According to the indictment handed down on Tuesday in Las Vegas, Fiore, who lives in the town of Pahrump, "solicited donations to build a statue honoring Las Vegas police officers" killed in the line of duty as a then-Las Vegas city councilwoman.

Pahrump is a small town not far from the California state line, at the southernmost tip of Nye County where Fiore is a justice of the peace.

Fiore is "a conservative firebrand and fervent gun-rights advocate who published a calendar of herself pictured with various high-powered firearms", the Reno Gazette Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network reported. As an assemblywoman in 2015 she introduced a campus carry bill that would have allowed concealed carry permit holders to have guns on college campuses, at K-12 schools and at day care facilities.

Funds raised were to create statue to honor fallen officers

Fiore allegedly promised donors “100% of the contributions” would be used to create the statue, the indictment alleges.

But prosecutors said Fiore did not use the tens of thousands of dollars in charitable donations for the statue of the fallen officer and instead converted the money to her personal use.

"The donations were used to pay her political fundraising bills and rent and were transferred to family members, including to pay for her daughter’s wedding," officials wrote in the release.

Federal court papers obtained by USA TODAY show Fiore is represented by Las Vegas-based attorney George P. Kelesis and was slated to enter a plea on the charges Friday.

USA TODAY has reached out to Kelesis.

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Michele Fiore faces up to 20 years in prison on each felony count

The FBI Las Vegas Field Office is investigating the case which remained open Thursday, officials said.

If convicted, she faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each criminal felony count.

Contributing: Jeffrey Meehan with the Reno Gazette Journal.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.