LAS VEGAS — A Nevada Republican who unsuccessfully ran for Treasury secretary in 2022 pleaded not guilty Monday to two new charges and faces trial in two weeks on federal charges that she used money raised for a statue honoring a slain police officer for political and personal expenses, including her daughter’s wedding.
The new charges brought to seven the number of wire fraud and conspiracy charges against Michele Fiore, a former member of the state Assembly and Las Vegas City Council who has been suspended with pay from her elected position as justice of the peace in rural Pahrump. Each charge carries a possible sentence of 20 years in prison. Fiore had pleaded not guilty to a five-count criminal indictment on July 17.
Fiore and her attorney, Michael Sanft, invoked her right to a speedy trial, and U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey in Las Vegas said jury selection would begin Sept. 24. Sanft and federal prosecutors Dahoud Askar and Alexander Gottfried told the judge they expect the trial to conclude in the second week of October. Askar and Gottfried declined to speak to reporters outside the courthouse.
Neither Fiore nor Sanft commented on the case to reporters. They were joined by Fiore’s friend, Sigal Chattah, an attorney and conservative GOP firebrand who a bid for state attorney general in 2022 to Aaron Ford, a Democrat.
Chattah also represents one of six members of the Nevada Republican Party accused of submitting certifications to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election. A state judge in Las Vegas dismissed that so-called fake voter case over a venue challenge by attorneys for defendants, including state GOP Chairman Michael McDonald. Ford is appealing that decision to the state Supreme Court.
Fiore, 54, is a sometimes flamboyant political figure best known for his support of gun control and his backing of states’ rights leader Cliven Bundy during and after armed confrontations with federal agents. in Bunkerville, Nevadain 2014, and in a national wildlife refuge in Oregon 2016.
Fiore was appointed as judge by Nye County lawmakers in 2022 after she campaign for state treasurer. She was elected in June to complete the remaining term of a deceased judge. Pahrump is an hour’s drive west of Las Vegas.
Fiore served in the state legislature from 2012 to 2016 and made headlines by posing with guns and her family for Christmas cards in 2015. From 2017 to 2022, she served as a Las Vegas city councilwoman.
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This story has been updated to correct the judge’s last name in the third paragraph to Dorsey, not Dorse.