Failed MAGA candidate defrauded city councilwoman with fallen cop memorial fund: court doc

Failed far-right Nevada candidate Michele Fiore has been accused of defrauding another Republican politician out of money as part of a wire fraud scheme, according to court documents released Monday and reported by the Nevada Independent.

Fiore, a former Las Vegas city councilwoman who ran unsuccessfully for Nevada State Treasurer in 2022, is under federal indictment for what prosecutors describe as a scheme to embezzle from a fund she set up through her political committee to erect statues of fallen police officers, instead spending the money on unrelated political activities, her rent, and expenses associated with her daughter's wedding.

She has pleaded not guilty and denies all allegations.

The new documents reveal that one of the donors defrauded by this scheme was Republican Las Vegas city councilwoman Victoria Seaman, along with Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo. They also reveal that Fiore's daughter was an unindicted co-conspirator.

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Fiore has been suspended with pay from her current role as a justice of the peace on the Pahrump Justice Court in Nye County, while the case proceeds. She was approved to that role by county officials in late 2022, despite having no judicial experience.

A controversial figure who has been involved in Vegas politics for years, Fiore is known for having ties to armed militias, and once said in 2016 that if a police officer points a gun at you, it's okay to point a gun back at them.

She also has had a contentious relationship with fellow Republicans, including Seaman. Two years ago, in the heart of the election campaign, Seaman accused Fiore of violently attacking her and creating a hostile work environment.

The Nevada GOP was thrown into disarray shortly after her loss, when she attacked former state party chairwoman Amy Tarkanian as an "alcoholic bimbo" and a "panty dropper after two shots."