LAS VEGAS — Michele Fiore, the former Las Vegas council member and Nye County justice of the peace convicted last year on wire fraud accusations, announced Thursday that she’d been pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Fiore faced a May 14 sentencing in federal court on convictions of six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors had accused her of pocketing money meant for a memorial statue to fallen police officers and using the proceeds for personal expenses like rent, travel and her daughter’s wedding.
On Thursday, Fiore filed a motion to vacate her sentencing because of the executive grant of clemency she received from the president.
“On April 23, 2025, the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, exercised his authority and granted Ms. Fiore a full and unconditional pardon for those offenses set forth in the case,” Fiore noted in her motion. “For the foregoing reasons, the sentencing cannot go forward and as such should be vacated.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
“After the order from the court last Friday, we were very disappointed,” said Fiore’s attorney Paola M. Armeni in a statement, referencing a judge’s decision last week to deny two motions by Fiore. “The pardon brought a new light. We are excited for Michele to move forward with her life and continue her path of service to the community she loves so much.
A firebrand in Nevada politics, Fiore is known for making controversial remarks that have angered both allies and opponents. The Republican was a Las Vegas city councilor from 2017 to 2022 and was also a Republican National Committee member. She was suspended as Nye County justice of the peace in July 2024 after her grand jury indictment.
According to prosecutors, Fiore told donors to write checks to a bank account that she controlled. She or another person would collect the checks. Fiore then concealed the fraudulently gained money by transferring it from a political action committee and charity’s bank accounts to accounts controlled by her and others.
A jury convicted Fiore in October, and she responded in January with motions for acquittal and a new trial. She argued last month why a judge should grant those motions, pointing to what she called the prosecution’s failure to meet its legal burden. Additionally, Fiore said she should receive a new trial because of a series of errors, including missteps by her then-attorney.
Fiore argued that someone must deceive and cheat to face a wire fraud conviction. That wasn’t the case for four checks involved in the case, as they were issued before a change occurred in who would fund the statue. At that time, the city intended to pay half the costs. That meant Fiore deceived no one when she asked for those donations.
Additionally, an agreement granting her daughter testimonial immunity that was withdrawn forced that friendly witness to invoke her Fifth Amendment right. The judge later struck the daughter’s testimony, a move Fiore called extremely prejudicial.
The judge last week denied Fiore’s motions.
“… the law gives great deference to jury verdicts, so the standard for setting one aside for insufficient evidence is high: the court must find that the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, could not have supported the verdict for any rational juror,” U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey wrote. “And the ample evidence of Fiore’s fraud scheme prevents her from meeting that burden.”
Dorsey also ruled that, while a judge could vacate a conviction and retry the case in the interests of justice, Fiore didn’t show her own circumstances met that bar.