Woman charged with wire fraud in $3 million real estate scheme

A Henderson woman has been accused of using $232,000 obtained in a real estate scheme to pay off her restitution in a criminal theft case.

Mary Musso, 59, faces five federal wire fraud charges in the $3 million scheme, which authorities say occurred in two phases between March 2007 and August 2010. She is accused of fabricating emails and forging documents to obtain loans.

The $232,000 was funneled through the client trust account of the longtime attorney who defended Musso in a 2005 criminal case in Clark County District Court, according to a federal indictment returned against Musso last month.

The attorney, Mace Yampolsky, who also handled civil matters for Musso, was not identified in the indictment. His name, however, has surfaced in lawsuits against Musso stemming from the real estate scheme allegations and in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case Musso filed to protect herself from creditors.

Yampolsky, who no longer represents Musso, wouldn’t comment on her indictment, citing the attorney-client relationship he once shared with her.

But in a complaint filed against Musso in the bankruptcy proceedings, his lawyer, Brian Terry, said Yampolsky considers himself a victim in the scheme.

“Though Ms. Musso appears to have utilized the services of Mr. Yampolsky to accomplish her elaborate fraud, Mr. Yampolsky had no knowledge or information that his services were being utilized to perpetuate a fraud,” Terry wrote.

The indictment alleges Musso, while acting as a real estate agent, falsely obtained $1.65 million in loans in May 2007 under the guise of making “tenant improvements” at two commercial properties. She created phony emails claiming to represent a businesswoman who was leasing the properties, according to the indictment.

Musso also forged the signature of the woman, Joan Morris, on new leases for the properties, the indictment alleges. Morris knew nothing about the transactions.

Court documents show that Musso had befriended Morris a few years earlier while visiting a restaurant and lounge Morris owned in Henderson and was familiar with the property she owned.

After Musso obtained the loans, she is alleged to have deposited the money into the bank account of her real estate company, Team Real Estate, without Morris’ knowledge, and then used money for her own purposes.

Between July and September 2010, Musso fraudulently obtained another $1.35 million in loans, this time using high-end condominiums Morris owned as collateral, again without the woman’s knowledge, the indictment alleges.

Musso fabricated emails and forged deeds of trust and promissory notes in the scam, according to the indictment.

An attorney for Morris, H. Stan Johnson, has filed a complaint against Musso in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, alleging she defrauded Morris.

Johnson said Morris was shocked to learn Musso had been able to get encumbrances placed on the condominiums. The dealings invaded his client’s privacy and caused her much “distress,” he said.

Johnson described Musso as a “con” adept at spinning stories.

“She has a long history of putting together schemes to obtain large sums of money from people,” he said.

As part of the condominium scheme, Musso had a title company in August 2010 wire a total of $875,000 to Yampolsky’s trust account, the federal indictment alleges. Musso “had control” of the trust account and used $232,000 of that money to pay off the restitution she owed in the District Court criminal case, the indictment alleges.

A county grand jury had indicted Musso in January 2005 on felony charges of forging documents and stealing more than $700,000 from a local clinic. Her husband, Joseph Musso, also was charged with theft in the case.

She later pleaded guilty to two felony theft charges, and in November 2006, District Judge Donald Mosley gave her a suspended prison sentence. Mosley, who has since retired, also placed her on five years of probation and ordered her to pay $450,000 in restitution, $150,000 of which was handed over at the time of the sentencing. Charges against her husband were dropped.

In January 2010, Yampolsky told Mosley in court that Musso was “diligently” trying to pay off the remaining restitution, according to the court minutes. Yampolsky said Musso was in real estate and had “some deals working.”

By September 2010, there was $232,000 left to pay, and Yampolsky informed District Judge Linda Bell that he had taken care of that with a check from his trust account, the minutes show.

As a result of negotiations with prosecutors, the felony charges against Musso were dropped, and she was allowed to plead guilty to a gross misdemeanor theft count. Bell then sentenced her to credit for time served.

In the wake of questions in the federal indictment about how Musso obtained the $232,000, Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens said Friday that his office would seek a judicial review of the case to see what options are available.

Earlier this month, Musso pleaded not guilty to the federal wire fraud charges and was released on her own recognizance. Her trial was set before U.S. District Judge James Mahan on Sept. 24.

Musso has denied wrongdoing in the civil litigation over her real estate dealings.

Her court-appointed attorney, Jesse Marchese, would not discuss the criminal case. But he suggested Musso was willing to consider a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

Marchese said he was hoping to keep Musso out of prison because of “serious medical issues” she faces.

“We’re looking forward to defending the case, but we’re also open to any offers that are made,” Marchese said.

Because of his client’s age and medical problems, a trial would be stressful for Musso, he said.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.