Attorney General Laxalt Announces Arrest of the Wife of Las Vegas Man Set to Be Sentenced in a Joint Terrorism Task Force Case


May 11, 2018

Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt announced that Lynn Benson, 54, formerly of Las Vegas, was arrested in Cloverdale, CA by the Cloverdale Police Department. After the Office of the Nevada Attorney General filed a criminal complaint against Benson, the Las Vegas Township Justice Court issued a warrant for her arrest. The charges against Lynn Benson include four counts of Mortgage Lending Fraud, a category “C” felony, one count of Pattern of Mortgage Lending Fraud, a category “B” felony, and three counts of Theft in the Amount of $3,500 or More, also a category “B” felony.

    According to the criminal complaint, Lynn Benson conspired with her husband Thomas Benson to mislead victims into believing their homes could be saved from mortgage foreclosure if they followed a scheme where they could avoid making additional payments on their homes. Thomas Benson is scheduled to appear before the Eighth Judicial District Court on May 14th, 2018 to be sentenced in two separate cases.

      “I dedicated resources to the Joint Terrorism Task Force to deter and disrupt criminal conduct,” said Laxalt. “My investigators and prosecutors will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the financial safety of all Nevadans.”

        In July, 2016, the Nevada Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee unanimously approved AG Laxalt’s request to create a Financial Fraud Unit to combat increasing financial fraud within the State. Among the 10 positions created using non-taxpayer settlement funds, the office dedicated a criminal investigator to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, where local, state and federal agencies collaborate to combat regional terrorism.

          This case was investigated after the Office of the Nevada Attorney General began its full-time participation in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. This case was investigated by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Task Force officers, and the arrest was made by the Cloverdale, CA Police Department. The Office of the Nevada Attorney General will be prosecuting this case.

            A complaint is merely a charging document; every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

              To view the criminal complaint against Lynn Benson, click here. To file a complaint about someone suspected of committing a fraud, click here.

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                BENSON, LYNN

                  (Photo courtesy of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office)

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