Former general counsel is at forefront as last 4 defendants in massive Vegas HOA case head to trial
After seven years of investigation, 37 guilty pleas and the suicides of three key targets, four remaining defendants are headed to trial this week in a massive federal investigation of homeowner associations in the Las Vegas area.
Foremost among the quartet is Keith Gregory, one of two lawyers indicted in January 2013. They allegedly acted in their role as general counsel to help take over the homeowner associations of major condominiums, in order to steer lucrative construction litigation and remedial construction contracts to co-conspirators.
Leon Benzer was the claimed mastermind of the scheme. It involved perhaps $10 million or more allegedly funneled from 11 HOAs between 2003 and 2009 by participants who used straw buyers and rigged condo board elections to take over the management of the condo buildings. Benzer pleaded guilty last month and may or may not testify at the trial of the remaining defendants, which is expected to last several weeks, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The other lawyer indicted with Gregory was Barry Levinson. He pleaded guilty last year to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in the HOA case and also took a plea deal in an unrelated state client-theft case, as the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported at the time. A Department of Justice press release provides additional details.
It appears that Levinson may not yet have been sentenced in the federal case, in which he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. He has reportedly agreed to be disbarred.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “2 Lawyers Targeted in Nev. Homeowner Association Fraud Probe Are Found Dead Within a Week”
ABAJournal.com: “4 new pleas in record Las Vegas corruption case; defense lawyers for others OK secret evidence pact”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Suspended lawyer is accused of stealing $1M from client settlements”
