`United States of America,
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`v.
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`Michele Fiore,
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`Plaintiff
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`Defendant
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`Case No.: 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA
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`Order Denying Motions for
`Acquittal and New Trial
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`[ECF Nos. 96, 97, 99]
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`**sealed information redacted**
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 1 of 77
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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`DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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`Former Las Vegas Councilwoman Michele Fiore was found guilty of fleecing donors out
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`of tens of thousands of dollars that she told them would be used for a memorial statue of a fallen
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`police officer whose senseless killing had impacted the local community. During the eight-day
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`trial, the jury heard from a veritable who’s who of Nevada business and politics, who wrote
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`checks to Fiore’s charitable organization or her political action committee in reliance on her
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`promise that 100% of the donations would be used to fund the statue. But the evidence showed
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`that a development company paid for the statue, and not a dime of the money that Fiore raised
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`was used for that purpose. Instead, each check was quickly converted to cash and spent on
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`Fiore’s personal expenses like rent, cosmetic procedures, and her daughter’s wedding.
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`With her sentencing on six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit
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`wire fraud looming, Fiore moves for acquittal, contending that there was insufficient evidence to
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`convict her. But the law gives great deference to jury verdicts, so the standard for setting one
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`aside for insufficient evidence is high: the court must find that the evidence, when viewed in the
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`light most favorable to the prosecution, could not have supported the verdict for any rational
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`juror. And the ample evidence of Fiore’s fraud scheme prevents her from meeting that burden.
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`Fiore separately moves for a new trial, arguing that her right to present witnesses in her defense
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 2 of 77
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`was violated, court errors concerning jury instructions and the admission of evidence deprived
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`her of a fair trial, and her trial counsel provided constitutionally deficient representation. The
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`trial judge may vacate a judgment of conviction and retry the case with a new jury if the interests
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`of justice so require. But Fiore has not shown that these circumstances were erroneous—let
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`alone of the caliber that merits a new trial. So I deny the motions.
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`Background1
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`In July 2024, a grand jury indicted Fiore on four wire-fraud counts and one count of
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`conspiracy to commit that fraud with a co-conspirator identified only as “Person A.”2 The
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`government soon filed a superseding indictment, adding two more wire-fraud charges.3 Fiore
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`invoked her right to a speedy trial, and a jury was empaneled on September 24, 2024, just 70
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`days after she was first indicted.4
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`A.
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`After Fiore suggests commissioning a statue of Alyn Beck in 2018, a private
`developer agrees to pay the full cost of the statue.
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`The government’s case against Fiore revolved around her scheme to capitalize on a
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`community tragedy. On June 8, 2014, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers Alyn Beck and
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`Igor Soldo were gunned down while they were on their lunch break in Northeast Las Vegas.
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`Beck and his family lived in Las Vegas’s Ward 6, and Steven Ross was that ward’s
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`1 The facts in this section are a summary of the evidence introduced at trial that is relevant to
`Fiore’s motions for acquittal or a new trial. Though I do not include a summary of every witness
`who testified or every argument by counsel, I reviewed and considered the entire record when
`analyzing Fiore’s arguments here.
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`2 ECF No. 1.
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`23
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`3 ECF No. 19.
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`4 See ECF Nos. 53, 83.
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`2
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 3 of 77
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`councilperson at the time of the shooting. Beck’s widow Nicole5 testified at trial that she and
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`Ross worked together to rename a nearby future park after her late husband.6
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`In 2017, Michele Fiore was elected to the Ward 6 seat, replacing Ross as its
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`councilperson.7 Nicole recalled meeting Fiore at the December 2018 groundbreaking of the
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`Alyn Beck Memorial Park, during which Fiore spoke and shared an idea that she came up with
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`“that morning” to commission a statue of Beck and add it to the park.8 Nicole testified that Fiore
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`never discussed that idea with her before announcing it and that she never talked to Fiore directly
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`about the statue after that.9 But Nicole did communicate with Olympia Companies, the
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`developer that was building the park. At one point, Olympia reached out to Nicole for photos of
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`her husband to give the sculptor, Brian Hanlon.10 Olympia and Hanlon sought Nicole’s input on
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`Hanlon’s initial sketch of the statue—Fiore was not involved in that call.11 Nicole testified that
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`she was unaware that Fiore was purportedly raising money for her late husband’s statue.12
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`Sculptor Hanlon testified that he was hired by Olympia in the summer of 2019 to create
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`the Beck statue.13 He discussed details about when the statue would be ready for installation
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`with members of Fiore’s staff and had a meeting with Fiore in January 2020, but that was the
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`5 Because Alyn and Nicole Beck share the same last name, I refer to Ms. Beck as Nicole
`throughout this order. No disrespect is intended by doing so.
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`6 ECF No. 87 at 44:12–45:17.
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`7 ECF No. 43 at 2.
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`8 ECF No. 87 at 48:11–49:16.
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`9 Id. at 56:9–15; 58:15–22; 64:19–23.
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`10 Id. at 56:19–57:14.
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`11 Id. at 58:10–14.
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`12 Id. at 65:4–15.
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`13 Id. at 75:7–76:25.
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`extent of his interaction with Fiore concerning the Beck statue.14 Hanlon testified that he was
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`paid a total of approximately $90,000 for the statue, the dedication plaques that were placed at
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`the park, and his travel to and from Las Vegas.15 Olympia’s Vice President Chris Armstrong
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`testified that Olympia paid for the statue and that the contract memorializing that agreement was
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`signed in August 2019.16 Although at one point Olympia and the City of Las Vegas had
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`discussed splitting the cost between them, sometime between the fall of 2019 and February 2020,
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`Armstrong informed the City that Olympia would donate the full cost “as a gesture,” and Fiore
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`was part of those conversations.17 Hanlon testified that he had also made a statue of Officer
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`Soldo, which was paid for by the City of Las Vegas, but that piece had not yet been unveiled at
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`the time of trial.18
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`B.
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`Despite Olympia’s promise to pay for the Beck statue, Fiore solicits donations for it
`between July 2019 and February 2020.
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`The government questioned 11 witnesses who testified that they made donations to
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`Fiore’s political action committee (PAC) or charity based on representations that those funds
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`would be used to pay for the Beck statue. Five of those witnesses testified to the donations that
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`formed the basis of the six wire-fraud counts charged in the superseding indictment.
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`14 Id. at 80:10–84:10.
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`15 Id. at 95:18–24.
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`16 ECF No. 90 at 55:11–17.
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`17 Id. at 56:16–57:21.
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`18 ECF No. 87 at 85:21–86:8.
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 5 of 77
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`1.
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`Count 2: the Lombardo campaign’s $5,000 donation to Fiore’s PAC on July 16,
`201919
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`Joseph Lombardo is now the Governor of Nevada, but in 2019 he was the Clark County
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`Sheriff. Lombardo testified that, in July 2019, he donated $5,000 from his Lombardo for Sheriff
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`political campaign to Fiore’s PAC, “Future for Nevadans” (FFN).20 The check’s memo line
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`indicates that it was for the “Alyn Beck statue.”21 Lombardo testified that Fiore asked him for
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`the donation.22 He recalled that she told him that “she was proactively raising money for the
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`statues of both Igor and Alyn and . . . was asking for a donation for the statues.”23 He couldn’t
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`recall how that conversation came about, but he was certain that Fiore spoke to him about
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`donating.24 Lombardo also testified that he would not have donated to Fiore had he believed that
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`the money would be used to finance her political career or personal expenses.25
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`2.
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`Count 3: Elizabeth Stavola’s $5,000 donation to Fiore’s charity on October 28,
`2019
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`Elizabeth Stavola testified that she gave $5,000 to Fiore’s charitable entity, “A Bright
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`Present Foundation” (ABPF), in October 2019.26 She recalled that she had “received a flyer and
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`a call” from Fiore soliciting the donation, but she no longer had a copy of the flyer and didn’t
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`19 The government charged Fiore with conspiracy in count 1 of the superseding indictment.
`Counts 2–7 each allege a separate wire-fraud charge. See ECF No. 19.
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`20 ECF No. 90 at 13:1–14:15; Gov’t Ex. 62 (Lombardo’s check to FFN).
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`21 ECF No. 90 at 14:20–23; Gov’t Ex. 62 (cleaned up).
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`22 ECF No. 90 at 14:24–15:1.
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`23 Id. at 15:4–6.
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`24 Id. at 15:6–14.
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`25 Id. at 15:19–24.
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`26 ECF No. 87 at 247:11–22; Gov’t Ex. 42 (Stavola’s check to ABPF).
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`recall how she received it.27 The government showed her a letter on ABPF letterhead seeking
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`donations for the statue and promising that “100% of all contributions” would be used for the
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`statue and memorial parks.28 The letter was signed by Fiore and identified Sheena Siegel,
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`Fiore’s daughter, as an officer of ABPF.29 Stavola recognized that letter as the flyer she
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`received.30 On cross-examination, defense counsel tried to sow doubt about whether Stavola
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`actually received the letter, implying instead that the FBI showed it to her when she was
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`interviewed as part of this investigation and that their questioning gave her a false memory of
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`receiving it.31 Stavola steadfastly insisted that she remembered receiving the letter.32 Testimony
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`from FBI agent Douglas Smith established that the letter the prosecution showed Stavola had
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`been found in a binder seized during a search of Fiore’s home.33 No witnesses were able to give
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`the FBI their copy of the letter.
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`Count 4: Jay Brown’s $26,700 donation to Fiore’s charity on December 3, 2019
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`3.
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`Local lawyer Jay Brown testified that Fiore approached him about donating to the Beck
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`statue in late 2019.34 He tendered $26,700 dollars in three checks to ABPF in December 2019.35
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`In February 2020, Fiore wrote checks to Brown totaling $16,700 from the ABPF account, so
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`27 ECF No. 87 at 248:2–250:2.
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`28 Gov’t Ex. 45A.
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`29 Id.
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`30 ECF No 87 at 249:13–250:2.
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`31 Id. at 255:1–257:18.
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`32 Id. at 255:10–21, 256:4–9.
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`33 Id. at 165:5–17.
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`34 ECF No. 60 at 14:13–18.
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`35 Id. at 17:22–18:25; Gov’t Ex. 46 (Brown’s checks to ABPF).
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`Fiore ultimately retained just $10,000 of his donation.36 Brown also testified to receiving the
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`ABPF donation-solicitation letter; indeed, the version found in Fiore’s home was addressed to
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`“Jay.”37
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` Brown testified that he also solicited donations for the statue. The government
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`questioned him about an email he sent to attorney Robert Groesbeck in which he wrote that
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`“Sheriff Lombardo and Councilwoman Fiore are looking to raise $80,000 to honor Alyn
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`Beck.”38 Some of the language in Brown’s email was identical to verbiage contained in the
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`ABPF letter.39 Brown testified that Lombardo didn’t ask him to help raise money; instead it was
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`likely that Fiore had.40
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`4.
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`Count 5: Peter Palivos’s $2,500 donation to Fiore’s charity on January 21,
`2020
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`Attorney Peter Palivos testified that he donated $2,500 to ABPF41 based on a
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`conversation with Fiore, in which she said that “she was doing a memorial for a fallen police
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`officer . . . and she asked [him] if [he] would contribute to that cause.”42 He averred that he
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`wouldn’t have donated to Fiore or her charity had he believed that the money would go to
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`another purpose.43 On cross-examination, Palivos testified that he couldn’t recall exactly where
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`36 ECF No. 60 at 27:7–29:3; Govt. Ex. 41. The ABPF checks to Brown don’t indicate whether
`they were meant to be a return of his donation or a payment for some other purpose.
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`37 ECF No. 60 at 12:10–13:7.
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`38 Gov’t Ex. 50.
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`39 Compare Gov’t Ex. 50 with Gov’t Ex. 45A; ECF No. 60 at 25:13–26:4.
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`40 ECF No. 60 at 24:18–25.
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`41 Gov’t Ex. 47 (Palivos’s check to ABPF).
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`42 ECF No. 90 at 43:20–22.
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`43 Id. at 43:25–44:8.
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`or when his conversation with Fiore occurred and that he didn’t receive a flyer soliciting
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`donations for the statue.44
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`5.
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`Counts 6 and 7: Laborers Local 872 and L.E.C.E.T.’s $10,000 donation to
`Fiore’s PAC in February 2020
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` Thomas White testified that he donated to Fiore’s PAC in his capacity as business
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`manager and secretary-treasurer of Laborers Local 872 (a labor union) and Southern Nevada
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`L.E.C.E.T. (a “labor management cooperation fund” used to “promote organized labor”).45
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`White received an email on February 3, 2020, from the email address michelefiore@me.com,
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`seeking donations for the Beck statue.46 That email informed White that Fiore was “raising
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`$80,000 to be utilized for Officer Beck’s life-sized statue” and that Fiore would later raise
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`another $80,000 for a future statue of Officer Soldo.47 Using language almost identical to the
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`solicitation letter that Stavola received, the email informed White that “100% of all contributions
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`[would be] used for this charitable event.”48 White testified that he wrote two checks for $5,000
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`each to FFN—one from Local 872 and one from L.E.C.E.T.—to help fund the statue.49 The
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`memo line on the Local 872 check stated that the money was for the “Alyn Beck Statue”; the
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`L.E.C.E.T. check’s memo line said only “sponsorship.”50 Regardless, White testified that he
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`wrote both checks based on the email he got from Fiore.51
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`44 Id. at 45:20–46:13.
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`45 ECF No. 60 at 194:20–195:16.
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`46 Gov’t Ex. 64 (Fiore’s email to White).
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`47 ECF No. 60 at 197:24–198:6; Gov’t Ex. 64.
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`48 ECF No. 60 at 198:9–10; Gov’t Ex. 64.
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`49 ECF No. 60 at 198:17–199:4; Gov’t Ex. 63 (White’s checks to FFN).
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`50 See Gov’t Ex. 63.
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`51 ECF No. 60 at 200:17–19, 201:8–10.
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`6.
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`The government questions six other witnesses about similar donations.
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`The government presented the testimony of six other witnesses who were also induced to
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`donate to Fiore for the purpose of building the Beck statue as evidence of Fiore’s modus
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`operandi and intent to defraud.52 Between November 2019 and January 2020, those witnesses
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`wrote checks to ABPF or FFN:
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`• Attorney David Chesnoff donated $5,000 to ABPF in December 2019;53
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`• Attorney and businessman Robert Groesbeck donated $5,000 to ABPF in
`December 2019;54
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`• Robert Richardson, CEO of a private ambulance service in Southern Nevada,
`donated $2,500 to ABPF in January 2020;55
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`• Tami Montes donated $2,500 to ABPF on behalf of The Siegel Group in
`December 2019;56
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`• Business owner Harry Mohney donated $2,000 to FFN in November 2019;57 and
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`• Developer Brett Torino donated $2,500 to ABPF in December 2019.58
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`52 This other-bad-acts evidence was the subject of pretrial motions in limine. I restricted the
`government to presenting evidence of other acts that occurred between December 18, 2018, the
`date Fiore announced her idea for the Beck statue, and February 2020, when the scheme
`allegedly ended. ECF No. 83 at 10–17. Fiore does not challenge that determination in her
`acquittal or new-trial motion. See ECF Nos. 96, 97.
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`53 See generally ECF No. 87 at 263–70 (Chesnoff’s testimony); Gov’t Ex. 53 (check from
`Chesnoff’s law firm to ABPF).
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`54 See generally ECF No. 60 at 41–51 (Groesbeck’s testimony); Gov’t Ex. 51 (check from
`Groesbeck’s company MM Development Company, Inc. to ABPF).
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`55 See generally ECF No. 60 at 52–62 (Richardson’s testimony); Gov’t Ex. 56 (check from
`Richardson’s company Community Ambulance to ABPF).
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`56 See generally ECF No. 60 at 91–104 (Montes’s testimony); Gov’t Ex. 48 (check from The
`Siegel Group to ABPF).
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`57 See generally ECF No. 88 at 7–20 (Mohney’s testimony); Gov’t Ex. 66 (check from Harry V.
`Mohney Revocable Trust to FFN).
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`58 See generally ECF No. 88 at 22–28 (Torino’s testimony); Gov’t Ex. 52 (check from Torino’s
`business BPS Management Services to ABPF).
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`Groesbeck and Richardson donated in response to solicitations by Jay Brown.59 Mohney
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`received a flyer seeking donations, payable to FFN, for a bronze statue of Alyn Beck and
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`donated because of that flyer.60 Chesnoff, Torino, and Montes did not say who solicited their
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`donations.
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`C.
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`The government follows the money to show that none of the donated funds were
`spent on their intended purpose.
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`Several witnesses testified about payments that Fiore made during the relevant
`time period.
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`The government sought to show that Fiore spent this money that she received from her
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`donors exclusively on her personal expenses. It introduced testimony from Peter Lee, the
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`property manager for the home that Fiore rented, to show that she paid $2,450 per month for
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`rent, usually via money order or check.61 A representative from a plastic-surgery business
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`authenticated records showing that Fiore paid some of her bills from the relevant time period in
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`cash.62 Alyssa Struck, a wedding planner who assisted with the wedding of Fiore’s daughter
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`Savanah Kaime-Willis, authenticated records of cash payments for that wedding.63 George
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`Kaime, one of Fiore’s ex-husbands, testified that the $10,500 he contributed to Savanah’s
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`wedding was paid electronically and not in cash.64
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`59 ECF No. 60 at 44–47, 56–57.
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`60 See Gov’t Ex. 65; ECF No. 88 at 11:21–13:23.
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`61 ECF No. 60 at 205–21 (Lee’s testimony).
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`62 ECF No. 88 at 29–34 (Alyssa Struck’s testimony on behalf of Anson, Edwards, & Higgins, a
`plastic-surgery office); see also Gov’t Ex. 85 (plastic-surgery company’s payment records).
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`63 ECF No. 60 at 223–29 (Cicely Hoffman’s testimony on behalf of event venue Emerald at
`Queensridge); Gov’t Ex. 82 (payment records for the Kaime-Willis wedding).
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`64 ECF No. 60 at 230–36. The defense called Fiore’s other ex-husband Timothy Johnson, who
`also testified that he donated $5,000 in cash to the Kaime-Willis wedding. ECF No. 91 at 28–32.
`The government established that the donations from Fiore’s ex-husbands did not account for the
`cash payments that it contended Fiore made. See Gov’t Ex. 82 (showing a payment that matched
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`Two representatives from Alchemy Associates, a political-consulting and fundraising
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`company, testified that Alchemy performed services for Fiore’s PAC and political campaigns,
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`but not for her charitable foundation.65 One of the Alchemy representatives, Tara Krumme,
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`testified that part of her role was to “facilitate” Fiore’s fundraising calls; she recalled that, on at
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`least one occasion, Fiore made calls seeking donations for the Beck statue.66 Krumme testified
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`that Alchemy helped Fiore prepare contribution-and-expense reports for her PAC and political
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`campaigns and that Siegel would send Alchemy spreadsheets tracking those expenses to prepare
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`for filing with the State of Nevada.67 Krumme also testified that some of Alchemy’s bills to
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`Fiore were paid by ABPF though it wasn’t contracted to do work for that charitable
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`organization.68
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`2.
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`The FBI’s forensic accountant testifies that Fiore could not have covered her
`personal bills without using money from her charity and PAC accounts.
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`The FBI’s forensic accountant Sandra Harris testified about the voluminous banking
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`records for Fiore’s charitable and PAC accounts as part of the government’s comprehensive
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`follow-the-money proof. She testified that $77,000 was deposited into ABPF’s bank account
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`during the relevant time period. Of that amount, $37,000 went to Siegel or her party-planning
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`company Hamlet Events; $7,375 was paid to Alchemy Associates; around $5,000 paid for
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`various constituent services; $16,7000 was refunded to Jay Brown; and the rest was cashed,
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`Johnson’s testimony that he gave $5,000 in cash, which was separate from the $4,500 payment
`the government accused Fiore of making); ECF No. 60 at 234:8–18 (George Kaime’s testimony,
`establishing that he donated via web payment, not cash).
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`65 ECF No. 88 at 42:3–23.
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`66 Id. at 63:1–64:23.
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`67 Id. at 65–66.
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`68 Id. at 69.
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 12 of 77
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`transferred to Fiore’s other political and business accounts, or given to individuals not associated
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`with the Beck statue.69 Of the funds in Fiore’s account tied to FFN from December 2018
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`through February 2020, $109,960 was paid to Siegel, $10,750 was paid to Hamlet Events, almost
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`$10,000 was given to Fiore’s other daughter Savanah, and the rest was cashed or transferred to
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`Fiore’s other bank accounts.70 In total, Siegel personally received $132,590 from Fiore’s
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`political and charity accounts, and Siegel’s company Hamlet Events received an additional
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`$34,550.71
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`Harris testified that Siegel immediately cashed most of the checks she received from FFN
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`and ABPF.72 Then—either the same or the next day—Siegel would pay for Fiore’s personal
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`expenses in cash. For example, Harris showed that Lombardo’s $5,000 check to FFN was
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`deposited on July 16, 2019, and later that day a check for the same amount from FFN to Siegel
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`with the memo line “Back to School” was cashed. On the same day, a money order was
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`purchased and used to pay Fiore’s rent.73 Stavola’s $5,000 check was deposited into ABPF the
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`day before a check signed with Fiore’s name was written to Hamlet Events for $4,500 from the
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`ABPF account. A few days later, $4,500 in cash was withdrawn from the Hamlet account, and
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`the following day a $4,500 cash payment was made to Savanah’s wedding venue.74
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`69 ECF No. 90 at 83:21–87:15; see also Gov’t Ex. 103 (demonstrative exhibit summarizing
`voluminous banking records).
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`70 ECF No. 90 at 88:11–89:1; Gov’t Ex. 103 at 5.
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`71 Gov’t Ex. 103 at 11. On a contribution-and-expense report for Future for Nevadans, Fiore
`listed $92,000 in payments to Hamlet Events, but that didn’t cover the full number of payments
`to Siegel or her business. ECF No. 90 at 104:5–24.
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`72 ECF No. 90 at 89:2–14.
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`73 Gov’t Ex. 103 at 14; ECF No. 90 at 105:22–107:21.
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`74 ECF No. 90 at 108:19–111:23.
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 13 of 77
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`Harris testified to several similar instances in which a donation was deposited into Fiore’s
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`charity or PAC account, only to be withdrawn in a check to Siegel and immediately cashed,
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`shortly followed by a cash payment for a Fiore personal expense.75 Harris also confirmed that,
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`for each cash payment or transfer to another account, Fiore didn’t have enough money in any of
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`her bank accounts to cover those expenses without dipping into the donated funds.76
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`During closing arguments, the prosecution relied on Harris’s accounting to show that
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`none of the money in Fiore’s accounts was spent on the Beck statue or related events.77 The
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`prosecution also argued that the forensic accounting showed that Fiore never intended to pay for
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`the Beck statue with donated funds because those funds got spent almost as soon as they were
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`received.78 And it maintained that the consistent and immediate movement of funds from Fiore’s
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`accounts to Siegel showed that Fiore and Siegel conspired to defraud donors in order to pay
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`Fiore’s personal bills.79
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`75 See generally id. at 80–121.
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`76 See, e.g., id. at 93:1–94:25 (Fiore couldn’t cover bills from Alchemy Associates without
`tapping into her ABPF account); 107:25–108:18 (Fiore couldn’t cover rent without using her
`FFN or ABPF account); 112:2–7 (Fiore couldn’t give $4,500 to her daughter’s wedding without
`using her FFN or ABPF account); 120:8–25 (Fiore couldn’t repay Jay Brown without using
`donated funds from L.E.C.E.T. or Laborers Local 872); see also Gov’t Ex. 103.
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`77 See generally ECF No. 93 at 37–75, 128–39.
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`78 Id.
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`79 Id. at 65–66, 69–70.
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 14 of 77
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`The defense calls Fiore’s daughter (and unindicted co-conspirator) Sheena Siegel in
`its case-in-chief, but cross-examination is cut short when Siegel invokes the Fifth
`Amendment.
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`Siegel testifies as a defense witness about the charitable events that she helped
`Fiore organize.
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`Despite Siegel being Fiore’s alleged co-conspirator, the government didn’t call Siegel in
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`its case-in-chief. Siegel was instead called as the defense’s second witness. On direct
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`examination, Siegel testified to her roles working for Alchemy Associates, managing ABPF, and
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`assisting with FFN.80 She averred that she created the binder of documents related to ABPF that
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`was seized at Fiore’s home in 2021 and had been introduced into evidence by the government.81
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`She explained that she was responsible for ensuring that the charity complied with the rules for
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`501(c)(3) organizations and that she kept information for how to do so in that binder.82 She also
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`testified that she created the letter soliciting Beck-statue donations that the FBI found in her
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`ABPF binder, but it was a “rough draft” and she didn’t recall if that letter was actually sent to
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`any donors.83
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`Siegel testified about her practice of using cash to pay for various charitable endeavors
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`and noted that she would “save the receipts” of purchases she made for those endeavors and store
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`them at Fiore’s home.84 She claimed that she used cash because it was convenient and asserted
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`that Fiore kept cash in her home to pay “her bills or any sort of personal things that she
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`80 ECF No. 90 at 192:14–195:12.
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`81 Id. at 197:4; Gov’t Exs. 45, 58.
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`82 ECF No. 90 at 200:13–24.
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`83 Id. at 216:6–14.
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`84 Id. at 210:11, 212:20–22.
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 15 of 77
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`needed.”85 Siegel stated that she was always the one to pick up donor checks and deposit them
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`into Fiore’s accounts.86 Siegel asserted that she used the cash to buy gifts for constituents
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`(blankets, backpacks, toys, etc.) and plan community events.87 And she confirmed the existence
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`of several invoices from Hamlet Events charging Fiore’s PAC for various expenses related to
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`community events—though none of those invoices was issued or paid during the time period that
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`the donor checks that formed the basis of Fiore’s charges were written.88 She explained that she
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`and Fiore ceased operating ABPF because COVID shifted the scope of their work and it was
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`simpler to use Fiore’s PAC.89 She also testified that she and Fiore shut down the charity after the
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`FBI executed the search warrant on Fiore’s home.90
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`2.
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`Siegel’s cross-examination is derailed after the government asks if she had just
`admitted to a federal crime.
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`On cross-examination, the prosecution asked Siegel a series of questions intended to
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`show that she was the recipient of large sums of money originating from Fiore’s charity and PAC
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`accounts.91 Siegel responded that she did receive checks from Fiore’s accounts, but they never
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`made it into her personal checking account because she would immediately cash those checks.
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`The exchange that brought Siegel’s testimony to an abrupt halt went like this:
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`Prosecutor: Ma’am, is this a check written from Future of
`Nevadans, your mother’s political action committee, to you
`personally for $1,500?
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`85 Id. at 213:14–19, 223:21–25.
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`86 Id. at 220:11–221:24.
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`87 ECF No. 91 at 42–61.
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`88 Id. at 83–86; Gov’t Ex. 34 (containing invoices from June 2018 through September 2019).
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`89 ECF No. 91 at 79:3–7.
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`90 Id. at 79:7–8.
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`91 Id. at 89–94.
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 16 of 77
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`Siegel: Yes.
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`Prosecutor: And there’s no memo line on that check, is there?
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`Siegel: No.
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`Prosecutor: Is that your mother’s signature on the bottom right?
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`Siegel: It could have been hers. It could have been mine.
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`Prosecutor: You said that could have been yours?
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`Siegel: Yes.
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`Prosecutor: So you might have written that check to yourself from
`your mother’s PAC account?
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`Siegel: Correct.
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`Prosecutor: Is that legal?
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`Siegel: No.
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`Prosecutor: Can you please go to the next—sorry. Are you—are
`you admitting to a federal crime here in court today?
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`Defense counsel: Objection, Your Honor.
`. . .
`Prosecutor: I think it’s a relevant question.92
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`3.
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`The court appoints counsel for Siegel after it appears that she admitted to
`forging her mother’s signature on checks, and the parties reveal for the first
`time that Siegel has an immunity agreement.
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`Concerned that Siegel may have just incriminated herself, I called counsel to sidebar and
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`asked whether she needed a lawyer.93 I was then informed, for the first time, that Siegel already
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`had a lawyer who had represented her during FBI interviews and her grand-jury testimony in this
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`92 Id. at 94:1–24.
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`93 Id. at 95:2.
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`Case 2:24-cr-00155-JAD-DJA Document 122 Filed 04/18/25 Page 17 of 77
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`case, but he was out of the district during her trial testimony.94 So I appointed a lawyer for
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`Siegel to ensure that her right against further self-incrimination would be protected.95
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`When asked what the government intended to ask Siegel next, the government expressed
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`its intention to impeach her with grand-jury testimony in which “she testified that her mother
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`was the only person who could write checks from the PAC, that she could not write checks from
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`the PAC, and that she never made any expenses without authorization because that would be
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`‘insane.’”96 The prosecutor also assured the court that it was “never [his] intention to elicit
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`incriminating testimony” from Siegel because he expected that her “answer would be consistent
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`with her previous sworn testimony, which is that all the money that she received was from her
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`mother and her mother was the sole signatory on that account . . . .”97
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`While the court was preparing to call Siegel back to the stand for that