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Nevada man convicted of $11 million worth of COVID fraud

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Nevada man convicted of  million worth of COVID fraud


LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KOLO) – A Nevada man has been convicted of defrauding three banks of more than $11 million worth of COVID-19 pandemic relief funds.

30-year-old Meelad Dezfooli of Henderson was convicted of engaging in a scheme to submit fraudulent loan applications under the PPP.

The court found that Dezfooli submitted three fraudulent PPP loan applications to federally insured banks, supposedly to benefit companies he controlled. Evidence showed that Dezfooli falsely represented certain material information in those applications, including information about payroll, employees, and use of loan proceeds.

After obtaining the $11.2 million, Dezfooli then laundered and/or spent the money by doing things like buying around 25 residences and two luxury cars, funding a personal investment account, and gambling extensively. The DOJ says after being originally charged, Dezfooli continued to launder criminal proceeds by selling five of the twenty-five residences.

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Dezfooli was convicted of three counts of bank fraud, three counts of money laundering, and four counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.

He will be sentenced on Dec. 5 and faces a maximum of 30 years in prison on each of the bank fraud counts, 20 years for each of the money laundering counts, and 10 years for each of the counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.



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HopeLink of Southern Nevada hosts Pickleball Fundraiser ‘Dink for HopeLink’

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HopeLink of Southern Nevada hosts Pickleball Fundraiser ‘Dink for HopeLink’


HopeLink of Southern Nevada is hosting its first-ever “Dink for HopeLink” Pickleball Tournament. This is the organization’s main fundraiser of the year Join them for some friendly competition while helping raise money to PREVENT homelessness in Southern Nevada.

HopeLink of Southern Nevada is a non-profit family resource center providing much needed assistance to PREVENT families, individuals and vulnerable seniors from facing homelessness.

‘Dink for HopeLink’ is happening at CHICKEN N’ PICKLE June 28th, 2026 from 1:30pm – 5pm.

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Dr. Brian Evans Selected as Nevada County’s Health Officer

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Dr. Brian Evans Selected as Nevada County’s Health Officer


Nevada County is pleased to announce that Dr. Brian Evans has been selected to serve as Nevada County’s next Public Health Officer.

 “Dr. Evans brings a long history of leadership in healthcare in Nevada County to the Health Officer position,” said Public Health Director Toby Guevin. “His expertise and knowledge of local health needs and providers across the county will be invaluable as we work to strengthen the health of our community. I also want to thank Dr. Cooke for her dedicated service as Health Officer for the past four years, guiding us through numerous challenges coming out of COVID 19.”

Dr. Evans was selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process, which drew from a pool of highly qualified candidates nationwide. His start date is planned for July 1, 2026, pending approval by the Board of Supervisors at their June 16 meeting.

“I’m honored to step into the role of Public Health Officer for Nevada County,” said Dr. Evans. “This is an opportunity to strengthen partnerships across the community, focusing on prevention, preparedness, and improving health outcomes. I look forward to supporting a science based public health team that is responsive, transparent, and grounded in the needs of our residents.”

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Dr. Brian Evans

Dr. Evans is a physician with more than two decades of clinical and leadership experience. Since 2022, he has served as Chief Medical Officer for Tahoe Forest Health, overseeing clinical quality, patient safety, emergency preparedness, communicable disease response, and regulatory compliance across two critical access hospitals and a broad network of services. He has served as both CEO and Chief Medical Officer at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, and served as CEO at Mercy Folsom and Chief Medical Officer at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento.

A board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Evans practiced for 15 years in Grass Valley after completing residency at UC Davis. He holds an MD from UCLA, an MBA from CSU Sacramento, and a BS in Biology from UC Davis. Dr. Evans lives in Nevada County with his wife, Jennifer, and has two adult daughters.

California law requires each county to appoint a licensed physician as Health Officer. The Health Officer is responsible for carrying out provisions of the State Health and Safety Code and serves as the physician of record for all Public Health clinical services. The Health Officer reports to the Public Health Director.





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Nevada DMV Enforcement cracks down on stolen luxury cars sold openly on social media

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Nevada DMV Enforcement cracks down on stolen luxury cars sold openly on social media


LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Nevada DMV Compliance Enforcement Division is cracking down on stolen luxury cars being openly sold on social media, with criminals listing them using code words and asking as little as a tenth of the normal price.

In one case, a 2021 Hellcat TRX was advertised for $12,000. The vehicle normally sells for at least $100,000.

In an ad for the high-end truck on Facebook, the first word of the description said “lien.”

“It’s pretty blatant. I mean, it’s like advertising drugs for sale online on a public website,” said JD Decker, chief of Nevada DMV’s Compliance Enforcement Division.

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Decker said the word is code for stolen.

“You won’t be able to register it or title it in your name… therefore the discounted price,” Decker said.

Investigation leads to recovery

Decker’s team tracked down the truck in the city of Las Vegas.

“We found the vehicle had been stolen locally and then wrapped to hide the color and mask the vehicle,” Decker said.

There were other signs the vehicle was stolen. The person pulled out the module from under the dash and started it by hot wire, touching the wires together. The VIN was not centered and was not a stamped manufactured VIN. The VIN also had 16 digits instead of the standard 17. A fake temporary tag was also used.

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The team got a warrant to arrest the seller, though they say he fled the state.

“That subject had his first court appearance and had an attorney appear on his behalf. We know he operated between a couple different states. He had previous charges in a couple different states,” Decker said.

Decker said these openly stolen cars advertised for sale are known as striker vehicles.

“When you’re selling a striker vehicle to someone who knows it’s stolen, you really don’t have to make much effort to hide the fact that it’s stolen because that’s kind of assumed in the transaction,” Decker said.

There are also websites that will advertise and sell striker vehicles. According to Decker, the negotiation takes place on offshore encrypted websites that aren’t subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

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If you ever have doubts about a vehicle you want to buy, have the seller meet you at the DMV’s VIN inspection station.

“We’d be happy to do that. It’s free. There’s generally no waiting. And if the vehicle comes from out of state, it’s going to require a VIN inspection at DMV anyway,” Decker said.

Decker said his team is constantly on social media looking for stolen vehicles for sale, especially high-end vehicles. He said the ongoing problem with fake tags contributes to this problem. FOX5 has previously reported on that problem

Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.



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