A former Las Vegas city councilwoman who ran for Governor in Nevada is facing federal charges for allegedly raising money to honor fallen police officers and then using the funds for herself, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
On Tuesday, July 16, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Michele Fiore, 53, of Pahrump, for allegedly defrauding donors to a charity to memorialize police officers who died in the line of duty, the DOJ said in a statement.
Fiore, who is a justice of peace in Pahrump, in Nye County, is charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the statement says.
According to the indictment, when Fiore was a Las Vegas Councilwoman in 2019, she solicited donations to build a statue honoring two fallen Las Vegas police officers, promising donors that “100% of the contributions” would be used for that purpose.
“As alleged, Fiore did not use any of 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 DOJ says in the statement.
“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.”
Fiore did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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In an emailed statement to The New York Times, Fiore said, “I have always approached my duties with utmost integrity and dedication. Now that these accusations have been made, I look forward to my day in court and have faith in our judicial system.”
Fiore is known for her opposition to laws that would restrict gun sales. In 2015, she and her family posed for a Christmas card holding guns, which made national headlines.
In 2021, she was seen in a controversial gubernatorial campaign video getting out of a pickup truck in the Nevada desert and using a handgun to fire at beer bottles with labels including “vaccine mandates” and “voter fraud.”
She left the gubernatorial race in 2022 and sought election as state treasurer. She lost the election to the Democratic candidate.
If convicted, Fiore faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count.
She is scheduled to return to court on July 29 for her arraignment.
