Biden commutes sentence for Las Vegas HOA takeover crime leader
A former construction company boss sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for a massive scheme to take over and defraud Las Vegas-area homeowner associations had his sentence commuted by President Joe Biden on Thursday.
Leon Benzer, 57, was also ordered to pay $13.4 million in restitution in August 2015 after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges. The case came out of his role in “the largest public corruption case in Southern Nevada,” the Review-Journal reported at the time.
The multimillion-dollar scheme aimed to fraudulently gain control of HOA boards through election rigging between 2005 and 2009. The scheme then led boards to obtain construction-defect litigation contracts for Benzer’s partner, Nancy Quon, and ultimately funnel repair work to Benzer’s construction company.
Lawyers with the Justice Department said the wide-ranging conspiracy left a trail of ruin in its wake, including HOAs with substandard repair work, defrauded mortgage companies and homeowners with diminished property values, according to court papers at the time.
In a Thursday statement, Biden said Benzer and nearly 1,500 other people in home confinement received clemency for their long prison sentences.
“These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the COVID pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance,” part of the statement read.
Kathleen Bliss, Benzer’s former attorney, said she last represented him when he was released to home confinement.
“I was relieved then, and thrilled now, that he and all defendants during that horrible time were commuted,” Bliss said in a text message. “It was right for President Biden to do so. I hope that the many other righteous cases pending are also given fair and due consideration by the President.”
Reached by phone Friday, lead prosecutor Charles La Bella said the DOJ it a successful prosecution of a “huge” case. There were 39 defendants sentenced in the scheme.
“What the politicians do after that is their decision,” La Bella said.
Benzer is listed as assigned to the residential re-entry management field office in Phoenix, according to federal prison records. His release date is listed as July 26, 2025.
He appealed and his sentence was reduced to 151 months in 2018, court records show. In August 2021, a motion to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence was denied.
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.
