Las Vegas Attorney Pleads Guilty for Role in Multimillion-Dollar Fraud
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
03 February 2014

A Las Vegas attorney pleaded guilty today for his role in multiple schemes to defraud his clients, to defraud the IRS and to fraudulently gain control of condominium homeowners’ associations (HOAs) in the Las Vegas area to ensure that the HOAs would steer business to a certain law firm and a certain construction company.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Laura Bucheit of the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office, Sheriff Doug Gillespie of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Acting Special Agent in Charge Shea Jones of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

Barry Levinson, 47, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan in the District of Nevada to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.   Levinson is the 30th person to plead guilty in connection with the scheme to defraud HOAs in the Las Vegas area.  Levinson simultaneously pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of wire fraud, with the latter charge relating to his embezzlement of his legal clients’ funds.

Levinson admitted that from approximately August 2003 through February 2009, he participated in a scheme to control various HOA boards of directors so that the HOA boards would award the handling of construction-related lawsuits and remedial construction contracts to his law firm and construction company designated by Levinson’s co-conspirators.  This scheme was carried out in part by straw buyers who purchased properties in their names that were in reality paid for and controlled by other co-conspirators.  According to plea documents, Levinson’s co-conspirators managed and operated the payments associated with maintaining straw properties by running a so-called “Bill Pay Program,” by which co-conspirators funded the properties through several limited liability companies at the direction of a co-conspirator.   Many of the payments were wired from California to Nevada.

Levinson admitted that he was hired to represent the Park Avenue condominium complex, but he treated a co-conspirator as his client rather than the HOA itself.  Levinson also admitted that several of his co-conspirators rigged an HOA board election at Park Avenue.  Levinson admitted that, after a lawsuit was filed by the homeowners and a special election master was designated for the make-up election, he attempted to bribe the special election master.

Similarly, Levinson admitted that after a rigged election at the Pebble Creek HOA, the homeowners filed a recall petition.  Levinson was hired as the HOA general counsel at the direction of a co-conspirator and took several steps to deter the recall election, including firing the property management company and filing a lawsuit to stop the recall election.

Related to the tax evasion charge, Levinson admitted that he failed to file taxes for the 2005 to 2010 tax years and filed a false 2011 tax return.  Levinson also admitted that he took affirmative steps to evade taxes for the tax years 2009, 2010 and 2011, including concealing cash earnings from the IRS and telling the IRS that his business was no longer operating.

Finally, related to the wire fraud charge, Levinson admitted that between March 2010 and September 2011, he embezzled nearly $180,000 from at least nine different minor personal injury clients. Levinson also admitted that he stole another $65,000 from an individual for whom he was serving as an escrow agent.

As part of the plea agreement, Levinson has agreed to be disbarred by the State Bar of Nevada.

Levinson’s sentencing is scheduled for May 5, 2014.   The maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud is 30 years in prison.   The maximum sentence for attempting to evade or defeat federal taxes is five years in prison.  The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, IRS-CI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Intelligence Section.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Charles La Bella, Senior Deputy Chief for Litigation Kathleen McGovern and Trial Attorneys Thomas B.W. Hall and Alison Anderson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.   The Department also thanks former Trial Attorneys Mary Ann McCarthy and Nicole Sprinzen for their efforts in prosecuting the case.

The United States Department of Justice
Pending Criminal Division Cases
United States v. Leon Benzer, et. al.
Court Docket Number: 2:13-cr-00018-JCM-GWF

This case has been assigned to the Honorable James C. Mahan, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Nevada, 333 S. Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101.

On January 15, 2013, as the result of the ongoing HOA investigation, eleven individuals were charged in a seventeen count indictment for their alleged roles in a scheme to fraudulently take control of homeowners’ associations in the Las Vegas area.

The indicted defendants, all from the Las Vegas area, include:

[1]	Leon Benzer
[2]	Keith Gregory
[3]	Charles McChesney; detained on 6/13/13 pending a bond revocation hearing to be held on 6/25/13 at 1:45pm in Courtroom 3B before Magistrate Judge Peggy A. Leen.
[4]	Barry Levinson
[5]	Ricky Anderson
[6]	Maria Limon
[7]	Jose Luis Alvarez
[8]	Rodolfo Alvarez-Rodriguez
[9]	Salvatore Ruvolo
[10]	David Ball
[11]	Edith Gillespie

The trial in this case has been rescheduled for March 3, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Mahan in Courtroom 6A. A calendar call will be held on February 26, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Mahan as well.

Each is indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Most of the defendants are also variously charged with individual counts of mail fraud and/or wire fraud. Limon is additionally charged with making a false statement to law enforcement.

According to the indictment, the fraud scheme, which allegedly operated from approximately August 2003 through February 2009, directed construction defect litigation and repairs at condominium complexes to a particular, conspiring law firm and Benzer’s construction company, Silver Lining Construction (SLC). In order to accomplish the scheme, Benzer and his co-conspirators allegedly identified homeowners’ associations (HOAs) that could potentially bring construction defect cases and then allegedly enlisted real estate agents to identify condominium units within the HOA communities for purchase. According to court documents, Benzer and others, including Gillespie, enlisted "straw purchasers," including Alvarez, Alvarez-Rodriguez, Anderson, Ball, Gillespie, Limon, McChesney, and Ruvolo, to use their names and credit to purchase condos in the complexes.

On at least 37 occasions, Benzer and certain co-conspirators allegedly provided the down payments and monthly payments on behalf of the straw purchasers, including HOA dues and mortgage payments, and various false and misleading statements were made to secure financing for the properties. The co-conspirators also made various false and misleading statements to secure financing for the properties. Further, to manage the properties, Benzer and others allegedly conspired to open at least five bank accounts through which they moved more than $8 million. Eventually, 33 of the 37 units went into foreclosure.

According to court documents, on several occasions and at the direction of Benzer, co-conspirators transferred a partial interest in particular condominiums to other co-conspirators to make them look like homeowners who could stand for election to the HOA board of directors, which many of these individuals and the straw purchasers agreed to do. To ensure conspirators won the elections, the defendants allegedly employed deceitful tactics, such as submitting fake and forged ballots, some of which were sent through the U.S. mail. Co-conspirators also hired complicit attorneys to run the HOA board elections as “special election masters,” to preside over the HOA board elections and supervise the counting of ballots.
 
Once elected, according to the indictment, the conspiring board members met with Benzer and other co-conspirators in order to manipulate board votes and process, including the selection of property managers, contractors, general counsel and attorneys to represent the HOA – including Benzer’s construction company and the conspiring law firm. Gregory and Levinson, both attorneys licensed in Nevada, allegedly agreed to become the general counsel for the Vistana and Sunset Cliffs; and Park Avenue and Pebble Creek complexes, respectively.
Limon, Benzer and others also allegedly agreed to open a property management company in order to provide services at Chateau Nouveau and other condo complexes in furtherance of the scheme. The indictment also alleges that Limon falsely told law enforcement officials she did not communicate with Benzer about this and did not know he funded and controlled her company.

At the conclusion of the scheme, millions of dollars of Vistana’s construction defect settlement proceeds were transferred to Benzer and SLC, according to the indictment. According to court documents, the defendants were each given cash or things of value from Benzer and others for their alleged roles in the conspiracy.

The maximum potential penalty for each count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, mail fraud, or wire fraud is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum potential penalty for making a false official statement is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. There has been no finding of guilt with respect to the defendants, and they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If you have suffered losses as a result of this scheme, you have the right to submit a Victim Impact Statement or letter in aid of sentencing to explain how the crimes affected you. Victim Impact includes physical, emotional and/or financial loss. Because there are many victims and multiple defendants in the HOA cases, we are asking that you complete this statement now as it relates to any or all of the defendants below and mail it to: Pam Washington, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, Room 4216, Washington, DC 20530.

Alternatively, you may also fax the statement to Ms. Washington at (202) 514-7021. This will help to expedite the process if any of the indicted defendants decide to plead guilty. This statement is completely voluntary but is important to us because it reflects what you are having to personally and financially endure because of the defendants' crimes.

A copy of the Indictment and Victim Impact Form can be found by clicking on the links below:

Indictment


top  contents  chapter  previous   next