Process server convicted on 35 felony counts

A jury on Monday convicted the owner of an unlicensed process serving company on all 35 felony charges stemming from his filing of false court affidavits earlier this year.

Maurice Carroll, who owns On Scene Mediations, faced 17 counts of perjury, 17 counts of offering false instruments for filing or record and one count of obtaining money under false pretenses.

The 12 members of the jury, who did not look at Carroll as they entered the courtroom, took about three hours to deliberate his fate.

District Judge Elissa Cadish allowed Carroll, a 42-year-old former Las Vegas police officer, to remain free on $35,000 bail while he awaits his Feb. 16 sentencing.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Staudaher had asked Cadish to order Carroll into custody, saying he now is a flight risk headed for "potentially significant time" behind bars.

Carroll faces a maximum of four years in prison and a $5,000 fine on each of the 17 perjury charges and a maximum of five years in custody and $10,000 fine on each of the 17 false instruments charges. He also can receive up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine on the charge of obtaining money under false pretenses.

Afterward, Staudaher said he was "happy with the verdict," but disappointed Cadish did not order Carroll jailed immediately.

Carroll refused comment as he left the courtroom, and his lead defense lawyer, Craig Mueller, said he would appeal.

"He was convicted on a couple of very unsettled points of law," Mueller said. "They convicted him of perjury without establishing that there was an oath of any sort."

Prosecutors alleged Carroll submitted false affidavits of service on May 13 and June 13 in civil cases involving one of his clients, debt collector Richland Holdings.

Carroll was accused of failing to serve documents in 17 Richland Holdings cases, but certifying in affidavits that he had. The defendants in those cases were hit with default judgments after failing to show up for hearings they knew nothing about.

Evidence presented by prosecutors during the week-long trial showed that one couple with a default judgment was in England at the time Carroll swore he had served the couple in Las Vegas. In another affidavit signed by Carroll, the listed address didn't even exist.

In his closing arguments, Staudaher told the jury the case was important to the justice system because people have a right to know when they're being sued.

"That's what it comes down to -- notice so that you can defend yourself," Staudaher said.

Cristina Hinds, another one of Carroll's lawyers, suggested in her closing arguments that Carroll was a conscientious businessman who was wrongly targeted by police. She said detectives were on a mission given to them by two Las Vegas justices of the peace who had found what they believed were irregularities in some default cases.

One key prosecution witness, Richland Holdings owner Paul Liggio, testified that Carroll was "by far the most effective process server he had," Hinds said.

Hinds contended the prosecution did not prove that Carroll knowingly falsified the affidavits in question or even signed the affidavits.

And she suggested the criminal charges were the result of innocent mistakes in a thriving business that handled some 30,000 cases over the years.

But Staudaher countered that this wasn't "just a bad day in the office" for Carroll. Staudaher told the jury he demonstrated through Carroll's own statements to detectives that he "knew exactly what he was doing" and "did it for money."

The prosecutor pointed to an interview Carroll did with detectives on the day they raided his North Las Vegas home in which he acknowledged falsely signing the affidavits, telling them, "I just wasn't thinking."

Carroll admitted to detectives that he wasn't even in town when he was supposed to have served the 17 people listed on the affidavits.

Las Vegas Justice Court officials believe Carroll's actions might have harmed the court system over a period of years, and police are continuing to investigate him. Court officials also are looking to hire a special hearing master to determine whether the rights of any of the defendants were harmed in some 25,000 default cases involving On Scene Mediations.

The Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada has filed a class-action lawsuit against Carroll and another one of his clients, payday loan company Rapid Cash, alleging false affidavits also were submitted in default cases brought by the company.

Carroll's former office manager, Vilisia Coleman, is facing similar criminal charges in Richland Holdings cases. Her trial has been pushed back to Dec. 13.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135 or read more courts coverage at lvlegalnews.com.