Defense rests in Las Vegas HOA criminal trial; says that GC didn't know of the fraud
The defense has rested in a federal trial of the remaining four defendants, including a lawyer, in a massive criminal case over construction-related fraud at large condominium associations in the Las Vegas area.
Following plea deals by the man portrayed by prosecutors as the mastermind of the scheme and dozens of additional defendants, counsel for the four at trial contended that their clients knew nothing of the wrongdoing by others, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Attorney Keith Gregory simply provided appropriate legal advice to the Vistana homeowners association he represented as general counsel, his lawyer, Loren Washburn, told the jury during closing arguments. Gregory “wouldn’t risk everything” concerning a client that represented less than a percent of his income as a legal professional, Washburn said.
At issue in the case is a corrupt scheme to take over the boards of as many as 11 homeowner associations between 2003 and 2009 that eventually overwhelmed mastermind Leon Benzer, according to prosecutors and evidence presented at trial.
Benzer, who owned Silver Lining Construction Co., allegedly made millions by organizing a conspiracy that involved straw purchases of units; interfered with the election system that was supposed to give homeowners a voice in the management of their associations; and paid board members and others to send lucrative construction-defect work to Benzer’s firm. However, he also reportedly experienced a significant outflow of funds that led him to take out a hard-money loan against the building in which his business was housed.
“I’m in real jeopardy of losing my building I’ve owned for years,” Benzer told Gregory in an email before an emergency meeting at which the Vistana board agreed to pay Silver Lining $1.35 million, another Las Vegas Review-Journal article reports.
Lead prosecutor Charles La Bella said at the Vistana alone, the board awarded Benzer some $8 million for work that mostly went uncompleted.
“All he did was back up a truck, shovel the money in and take off,” La Bella said of Benzer.
The four defendants currently at trial face conspiracy and fraud charges. In addition to Gregory, they include two former board members, said to be controlled by Benzer, at other HOAs and a relative of Benzer accused of recruiting straw buyers to purchase homes in the targeted HOAs.
Prosecutors contended that Gregory was paid not only by the Vistana homeowners association to act as general counsel but by Benzer, the newspaper articles report. The construction company owner gave Gregory two checks totaling $12,000 after the HOA board, at an emergency meeting, authorized a $1.35 million “mobilization” payment to Benzer’s Silver Lining Construction, testified Benzer’s former right-hand man, Ralph Priola.
The money was used by Benzer for purposes other than the construction work at Vistana that it was supposed to fund, the government says. Meanwhile, Gregory, at the same time he was being paid as Vistana’s general counsel, was billing Benzer for legal work related to the mobilization payment vote, records entered into evidence in the case reportedly show.
Priola also testified that he and Benzer met secretly with Gregory and Vistana board members to get them to award a $7.2 million contract to Benzer’s company.
The jury in the case began deliberating on Tuesday.
Related coverage:
Las Vegas Review-Journal: “HOA gets $356,000 from FBI”
Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Witness describes payoffs, rigging elections in HOA fraud trial”
Las Vegas Review-Journal’: “HOA scheme straw buyer, attorney say they feared for lives”
Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Ex-Metro lieutenant testifies he helped rig HOA elections”
