Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
In state treasurer race, incumbent accuses opponent of skirting laws on campaign finance
Nevada state treasurer candidate Michele Fiore is being accused of taking campaign contributions that exceed the $10,000 limit under state law and engaging in a “straw donor scheme” to conceal the source of other donations that would exceed campaign finance limits, according to a complaint filed last week with the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office.
The complaint, which was filed by the campaign for Democratic incumbent Zach Conine, amounted to “a minor clerical error” and was a political tactic, Fiore, the Republican nominee, said in a statement to the Sun.
Nevada’s campaign finance laws limit candidates to a maximum of $10,000 in contributions from any single entity. Fiore is potentially guilty of a Category E felony because she “knowingly and willfully participated in these attempts to skirt Nevada campaign finance law,” Conine’s campaign said.
From 2021 to 2022, Fiore’s campaign appeared to have received contributions totaling more than $50,000 from donors with either fake names or addresses tied to two local companies, American West Development Company and Blue Marble Development, Conine’s campaign said. One of the contributors is listed as “Sherwin Bosuk,” according to the complaint. According to secretary of state records, the address listed on Borsuk’s $5,000 donation made Dec. 1, 2021, is associated with Blue Marble.
The complaint alleges the Secretary of State’s Office has no record of such a person being associated with the company, or any other business entity in Nevada. Further, searches of public records databases yielded no results for a Sherwin Borsuk with any personal, political or business ties to the state.
Borsuk has no record of any campaign contributions to any other Nevada candidate or campaign, the complaint states.
In a Federal Election Commission filing, Conine’s team found a Sherwin Borsuk tied to an address in Connecticut. That person’s donations in federal elections largely amounted to $25 or less.
A public records search by the Sun yielded no results in Nevada for a Sherwin Borsuk, but the Sun did find records of a 71-year-old Borsuk living in Connecticut.
Further, according to the complaint, an executive with Blue Marble, Sheryl Cordero, contributed $20,000 to Fiore the same day as Borsuk. Cordero’s contributions also were listed as coming from the Blue Marble address.
Cordero could not be reached for comment.
It’s not illegal for an individual to donate more than the $10,000 limit to a campaign, but campaigns must issue a refund to the donor for any amount over
the limit, per state law.
In a separate instance, Fiore accepted donations from American West Development chairman Lawrence Canarelli amounting to $17,500 over a six-month period, according to the complaint. Secretary of state records show Canarelli donating to several Nevada races over the years.
Conine’s complaint also alleges Fiore accepted donations from individuals tied to American West Development, despite the listed donors having no association with the company.
The complaint lists two individuals, Lawrence Jenkins and Lawrence Wu, donating $10,000 each to Fiore’s campaign, with both reporting their address as American West Development’s.
Public records searches by Conine’s team yielded no results with either name being associated with the company or its address, and secretary of state records show no record of a Lawrence Jenkins or Lawrence Wu making donations to anyone else other than Fiore.
Canarelli made a $10,000 donation to Fiore’s campaign the same day as the Lawrence Jenkins donation was made, according to campaign finance logs. Canarelli could not be reached for comment.
Jennifer Russell, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s office, said in a statement the complaint was under review, and offered no further comment.
Conine’s campaign said in addition to the complaint with the Secretary of State’s Office, the findings were also brought to the attention of Attorney General Aaron Ford’s office.
John Sadler, spokesman for Ford’s office, told the Sun it had not received the complaint by Conine’s office as of Friday afternoon. It could be sent by the Secretary of State’s Office at a later date, Sadler added.
“Conine is using a minor clerical error to smokescreen his deliberate act of divesting from companies because he disagrees with the Constitution,” Fiore said in her statement to the Sun.
She is referring to a decision in June by Conine for Nevada to divest nearly $90 million in the state’s investment portfolio from companies that manufacture or sell assault-style weapons. In announcing the action, Conine cited moral and financial obligations in the aftermath of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, earlier this year that killed 21 people — 19 of whom were children.
The Nevada Treasurer’s Office manages an investment portfolio for the state of more than $49 billion, of which $89 million had been held in assets relating to the assault weapons industry.
“As Nevada’s chief investment officer, I have a responsibility to ensure Nevada’s tax dollars are invested with minimal exposure to risk. Companies that profit on the manufacture and sale of assault-style weapons present a market risk I’m not willing to take,” Conine said at the time. “Investments are fundamentally a plan for the future, and it’s time Nevada started investing in a better future where our children aren’t slaughtered in classrooms.”