Former Las Vegas politician convicted over $70,000 police memorial fraud

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. Prosecutors said she had assured contributors that every dollar would go towards building memorials for the fallen officers. 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 assured donors every contribution would fund police memorialsFiore'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.The appeal was directed at people willing to support a project honouring officers who had lost their lives in the line of du...