Embattled Family Court Judge Steven Jones once tried to start a juvenile rehabilitation program in Clark County with the assistance of a convicted felon.

The felon, D. Victor Hancock, also has ties to a real estate company for which Jones was treasurer.

According to court officials, Jones played a significant role in launching the short-lived juvenile rehabilitation program, known as Socksters, with Hancock in Juvenile Court about two years ago.

Hancock, meanwhile, is a defendant in a District Court civil complaint involving Golden Resort and Movie Inc., a real estate company for whom the judge was listed as a treasurer in 2004, according to records with the Nevada Secretary of State's Office.

Whether the two men held a shared financial interest in the company remains unclear.

If they did, Jones' willingness to involve Hancock in a Juvenile Court program would raise questions about whether the arrangement violated judicial rules mandating a judge keep his judicial duties separate from private interests.

During a June 30 hearing related to a domestic violence charge against Jones, his former girlfriend testified that FBI agents had asked her whether Jones was associating with known felons.

Jones is no longer the chief judge in Family Court, although he remains a judge. He has resigned from the supervisory role, according to a memo circulated by Chief District Court Judge Kathy Hardcastle.

An attorney for Jones indicated Friday that the judge would comment for this report. Jones left a voice message for a reporter Friday, but then could not be reached.

The attorney, James Jimmerson, said there was nothing inappropriate about Jones' dealings with Hancock or the Socksters program, and that the program had a noble purpose of helping troubled youths in Juvenile Court.

"There is nothing nefarious here," Jimmerson said.

Socksters was a pilot program funded by Hancock and endorsed by Jones. Court Information Officer Michael Sommermeyer said the program did not involve the expenditure of any government funds.

The intent of the voluntary program was to have troubled youths counseled by Hancock. He had spent nearly a decade in prison for white-collar crimes, and he is a registered felon in Southern Nevada, according to Las Vegas police records and an interview with Hancock's attorney, E. Brent Bryson.

News accounts indicate Hancock was arrested in Las Vegas in 1994 amid allegations that he was involved in a gold investment scheme that cost investors $150,000. The resolution of the case is unclear because the records are sealed.

Despite Hancock's history, court officials were willing to allow him to meet with juveniles in the court system to see if he could help them turn their lives around, Juvenile Court Hearing Master Stephen Compan said.

"I was an ex-felon, I went to prison, and I straightened my life up. I have a limo now, I make a lot of money legitimately now, and this is the way to go," Compan said, describing Hancock's message to the juveniles in the program.

The program was in place for a matter of weeks. It was not clear last week why it was disbanded.

Local attorney William "Lew" Wolfbrandt, who practices regularly in Juvenile Court, said he was invited about two years ago to at least two meetings involving Hancock, Jones and other court officials to discuss the program.

He said he was "cautious" about the premise of having his juvenile clients mentored by Hancock. He also said Hancock made it clear to everyone that he is a convicted felon.

"He did come with the endorsement of Judge Jones," Wolfbrandt said.

Still, Wolfbrandt said he thought that if implemented properly, the Socksters program had at least the potential to help juveniles with Hancock teaching them how to start their own businesses.

"If they were a little bit older, they (the youths) could come back with a business plan for if they wanted to do their own business," Wolfbrandt said.

He said he remembers hearing about Jones and Hancock being involved in a separate business endeavor at the time.

"I was told it had something to do with real estate in Mexico," Wolfbrandt said.

According to the Web site for Golden Resort and Movie Inc., or GRAMI, and the lawsuit filed against the company, the business is involved in selling "equity cards" to investors, which gives them equity in oceanfront property in Mexico.

Jones -- in addition to being listed as a treasurer of the company in 2004 -- is identified on a business card circulated in Family Court as being part of "Team Hancock." Under the Team Hancock business logo is Jones' name and the words, "The Judge."

Jones is no longer listed as a corporate officer of the company.

Keith Van Buren, in his civil complaint against GRAMI, alleged that he gave the company $20,000 with an agreement to become a distributor of the equity cards, but that he was never given the equity cards by the company.

The Review-Journal started making inquiries about GRAMI on Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, the company's Web site was no longer accessible on the Internet.

According to Nevada's Judicial Ethics Code, judges must keep their judicial functions separate from any private or personal interests. Judges also must avoid even the appearance of impropriety in their everyday actions.

Judges also are prevented from allowing family, social, political or other relationships to influence their judicial conduct or judgment, and they cannot lend the prestige of their office to advance their private interests or the private interests of others.

In addition, a judge cannot "convey or permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge," according to the code.

Revelations about Jones' dealings with Hancock come at a trying time for the judge. Jones was arrested last month on an allegation that he battered his former girlfriend, Amy McNair.

He has denied it, and another judge said during a hearing two weeks ago that he believes McNair was the aggressor in the incident.

The misdemeanor charge against Jones is pending in Henderson, where police records show officers had been called to Jones' home several times over four years.

On Wednesday, the Review-Journal reported on Jones' ties to Thomas A. Cecrle, who is charged with methamphetamine possession, domestic battery and writing bad checks in two felony cases pending in Southern Nevada courts.

A Las Vegas investor, Gene Isaacs, claims that he lost $800,000 in a questionable real estate deal spearheaded by Cecrle, who is Jones' former brother-in-law, and that many details of the investment plan were carried out in Jones' office.

Isaacs also claims that Jones was intimately involved in the business deal, which the judge has adamantly denied through his attorney.

Compan, the Juvenile Court hearing master, defended Jones in an interview last week, saying the judge is a man of high integrity and a respected jurist. He also said Jones has a track record of trying to help people, even if those individuals have had trouble in the past.

"He tries to help people, perhaps to a fault," Compan said.