Suspended Las Vegas lawyer gets jail time for court fraud
A suspended Las Vegas attorney was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days behind bars for her role in a scheme to defraud the court system.
Clark County District Court Judge Stefany Miley sentenced Vicki Greco to five years of probation in addition to jail time. Miley also sentenced Greco to 19 to 48 months in prison, but she suspended the sentence in lieu of probation.
Greco pleaded guilty in May to one count each of burglary, forgery and offering a false instrument for filing or record, each felonies, with a gross misdemeanor count of destroying evidence.
Standing before the bench, Greco choked up as she apologized to the court and asked for probation.
“I feel that I have a lot to offer other people based on what I’ve gone through and whatever next career that I find,” Greco said.
Greco’s attorney, John George, argued that her life had collapsed and her suspension from practicing law in Nevada meant probation was sufficient punishment.
“A punishment has already been exacted upon her,” George told the court.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo argued that Greco’s actions were of particular concern given her status as an attorney. She deserved prison time, he said, as it would send the message that such behavior for a lawyer isn’t tolerated.
“If you don’t have trust for the lawyers, the system fails,” DiGiacomo told the court.
Greco initially was indicted on 138 felony and misdemeanor counts more than two years ago.
Authorities said she filed phony certificates of completion for Las Vegas Justice Court-ordered counseling and community service on behalf of prostitutes between 2008 and 2010. Investigators found that false documents were submitted in at least 41 misdemeanor cases Greco handled.
The investigation was tied to the long-running criminal case against former defense lawyer Brian Bloomfield, who pleaded guilty to doing the same thing for his clients over the same period. The since-disbarred lawyer was similarly ordered in 2016 to serve 90 days in jail, with five years of probation.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer David Ferrara contributed to this report.
