New charges filed in court fraud scheme

A Clark County grand jury on Wednesday filed a new round of charges against a former Las Vegas process server convicted in a scheme involving false court affidavits.

Maurice Carroll, 42, a former Las Vegas police officer, was indicted on 17 counts of forgery stemming from the submission of false affidavits in Justice Court.

District Judge Linda Bell issued a warrant for Carroll's arrest and set bail at $51,000 on the new charges and set a Feb. 24 initial appearance for Carroll before District Judge Michelle Leavitt.

Carroll's attorney, Craig Mueller, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Carroll, who ran the unlicensed process serving company On Scene Mediations, is currently free on $35,000 bail in his other criminal case, which is being handled by District Judge Elissa Cadish.

Following a hearing last month, Cadish granted a defense request and ordered Carroll retried on 17 perjury charges. But she let stand Carroll's convictions on 17 other counts of filing false affidavits and one count of obtaining money under false pretenses.

A jury convicted Carroll of the 35 felony charges in October. The charges focused on phony court affidavits in civil cases involving one of his clients, debt collector Richland Holdings.

He was accused of failing to serve documents in 17 Richland Holdings cases, though he certified in affidavits that he had.

The new forgery charges stem from the testimony of a defense witness at last month's hearing.

Terri Smith, a former Carroll employee now living in Denver, testified that a notary stamp used on the 17 affidavits was hers, the accompanying signature was not. She said she did not know who had signed her name, and she acknowledged that she had left her notary stamp in Carroll's office when she moved to Denver.

Following Smith's testimony, Cadish concluded that what Smith had to say should have been heard by the jury in October when it considered the perjury charges against Carroll. At that time Smith could not be located.

Her revelations last month also opened the door for prosecutors to charge Carroll with the additional forgery charges. Prosecutors now want to know who wrote Smith's name on the affidavits.

"I can't let stand the fact that someone can potentially get out of a perjury count by committing another crime of forgery," Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Staudaher said after the hearing.

At a later hearing last month, Staudaher informed Cadish and Carroll that he intended to present the forgery evidence this week to the grand jury.

He said he planned to seek the indictment without calling Smith, who is now refusing to return to Las Vegas to testify against Carroll, her longtime friend.

Carroll's former office manager Vilisia Coleman, 46, pleaded guilty in the affidavits scheme in December.

Her sentencing is set for April 11 before Cadish.

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