Yet Another Grifting Republican is Heading to Prison

A jury convicted Pahrump Justice of the Peace Michele Fiore on all counts in a federal wire fraud case on Thursday.

Fiore, currently suspended from her Pahrump duties, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. She appeared more subdued after the verdicts were read in the courtroom.
...
Fiore is accused of raising more than $70,000 for a statue to remember Las Vegas Metro Police Officer Alyn Beck, but then spending the money on personal expenses. Beck and Officer Igor Soldo were killed in the line of duty in 2014.

“Michele Fiore used a tragedy to line her pockets,” [federal prosecutor Dahoud] Askar told the jury.

An executive with Olympia Companies, a major developer, had testified the company paid for the statue in its entirety and Fiore would have known this.

Pretty ballsy to raise money for something that somebody else is paying for and then steal all of it.

H/T

Everything Even Somewhat Associated With Felonious Don Dies

Exhibit 845,325: Epoch Times.

The arrest of an executive at The Epoch Times in a money-laundering scheme this week has drawn attention to a media outlet that has lived largely in the shadows since its founding in 2000 and a transformation during the Trump administration.

Federal prosecutors in New York charged Weidong “Bill” Guan of Secaucus, N.J., chief financial officer of The Epoch Times, of steering at least $67 million in criminal proceeds, much from fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits, to the company, its affiliates and himself. Guan pleaded not guilty but was suspended by The Epoch Times, which agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

The case calls into question the future of a company that was a key online supporter of Trump and spreader of conspiracy theories.

The cultish aspect is weird, too. Even if few in the West give a shit about Falun Gong. But it is interesting how things connected to or supporting Felon^34 seem to wither and die (or, if human, get indicted).

The MAGA Grift

Members of former Trump aide Michael Flynn’s family pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in leftover money from a legal defense fund that was set up for the retired general as he faced a federal investigation over the 2016 election, Flynn’s sister testified in a defamation case involving CNN.

So Flynn and his sister grifted the leftover money (over half a million) and had not problem appealing to QAnon and MAGA nutjobs to give them money, but they felt it was defamatory to be associated with QAnon and MAGA. Even though they willingly participated in some oath-swearing ceremony which included a QAnon slogan, because they were trying to soak the wet-brained for cash.

Seems like a hell of a stretch. Here's a pro tip: If you don't like people saying that you're associated with a nutball extremist group, then try not associating with a nutball extremist group.

Pass the Popcorn, Please

Turns out that Jimmy O'Keefe is just another right-wing grifter. Allegedly.

Right-wing media group Project Veritas is suing its founder James O’Keefe, accusing him of bullying employees, racking up massive personal bills on company accounts, and using Project Veritas resources to start a new, rival media shop.

Grifting the Right

A group of conservative operatives using sophisticated robocalls raised millions of dollars from donors using pro-police and pro-veteran messages. But instead of using the money to promote issues and candidates, an analysis by The New York Times shows, nearly all the money went to pay the firms making the calls and the operatives themselves, highlighting a flaw in the regulation of political nonprofits.

They raised $89 million in the 2022 election cycle, mostly in small donations. Most of that went for fundraising costs. A few million went to what appeared to be shell companies owned by the organizers. Just under $827,000 went to support political causes and candidates.

In other words, they skimmed over 99% of the donated money by phony charities to support first responders, almost always targeting conservative voters.

If you get a call from someone who says that they are working for a fund that supports cops, firefightsers, or veterans hang up. It's a fucking scam.

Grifters Gotta Grift

Two of Trump's Truthers have been raising money for a hospital that will never be built.

The Democrats on Long Island (NY) Are Idiots

So, this is what happened: Some clown ran for Congress this year on the Republican ticket. He won.

But, as it now turns out, his resume is a work of fiction. 

•  He claimed to have worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. He didn't. 
•  He claimed to have graduated from Baruch College. He didn't.
•  He claimed to have attended New York University.  He didn't.
•  He claimed to have run an animal rescue group.  No such charity exists.
•  He claimed to have lost four co-workers in the Pulse Nightclub shooting.  Nobody can determine who they might be.
•  He claimed to have a family fortune in real estate.  Nobody can find a record of any properties.

What he didn't disclose was criminal check fraud charges in Brazil, which he committed (he confessed to it) during the time he was supposedly in college.

There is more. such as being evicted for non-payment of rent at least twice, questionable campaign expenditures and much, much more.

But this is the thing: Nobody bothered to do any opposition research on this clown? Nobody could be bothered to vet any of his claims?

Democrats, where the fuck were your heads? I would think that even doing a cursory look into the background of the otehr guy running for Congress would be Basic Politics 101.

So yes, this guy apparently is a liar, a criminal, and a grifter who hangs out with American neo-nazis. But you couldn't find any of this out?

And now his district is stuck with this schmuck of a goniff for the next two years.

Good work, Democrats.