October 10, 2014
Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez
Masto announced that former University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) employees
Lina Khachekian, 35, of Las Vegas and Marissa Neuhaus, 23, of Las Vegas pleaded
guilty on Thursday to misappropriating at least $292,000 from the university for
their personal benefit.
“My office collaborated with UNLV to investigate and prosecute Khachekian and
Neuhaus,” said Masto. “The Attorney General’s office always has and will
continue to take a strong stance against abuses of public trust by state
employees.”
Khachekian pleaded guilty to two felony counts of theft and Neuhaus pleaded
guilty to one felony count of fraudulent appropriation.
Charges relate to a scheme, between 2011 and 2013, in which the defendants
used their employee access to UNLV purchase accounts to order consumer
electronic products for personal use or resale by co-conspirators. The
defendants created extensive and elaborate falsified documentation in order to
conceal the illicit purchases from UNLV management.
Each felony theft count to which Khachekian pleaded guilty to carries a
potential one to ten year sentence in the Nevada Department of Corrections
(NDOC). The fraudulent appropriation count to which Neuhaus pleaded guilty to
carries a potential one to four year sentence at NDOC. Khachekian will be
sentenced Feb. 10, 2015 at 8:15 a.m. in District Court Department 17.
Neuhaus will be sentenced Feb. 12, 2015 at 8:15 a.m. in District Court
Department 17.
The case is being prosecuted by Chief Deputy Attorney General Thom Gover and
Deputy Attorney General Adam Woodrum of the Attorney General's Special
Prosecutions Unit.
To read the criminal information for Khachekian, click
here. To read the criminal information for Neuhaus, click
here.
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