A woman has been booked into a Southern Nevada jail some four years after authorities say she participated in a complex fraud scheme that stole more than $1.4 million from the Clark County School District.
The theft, which has ties to Nigerian scammers and also involved multiple bitcoin transactions, was first reported to Metropolitan police in August 2022 by the School District.
An arrest report for Jasmine Latrice Nelson, 32, and three other defendants indicate the district told police it had become the victim of a theft where more than $1.4 million meant to be sent to Boyd Construction for construction services was instead sent to a fraudulent bank account.
The thieves, police said, were able to carry out the crime using email domains similar to CCSD’s email domains.
“The attacker who was controlling the similar domains had inside knowledge of a business relationship between CCSD and Boyd Martin Construction,” police said. “The unknown attacker was able to trick CCSD accounting personnel into sending funds to the Huntington National Bank account…controlled by a malicious actor instead of Boyd Martin’s Construction’s bank account by sending emails back and forth between the legitimate and illegitimate domains.”
An investigation by police and the FBI led to the arrests of at least four suspects. Three have since been sentenced for related crimes, but the fourth, Nelson, had never been prosecuted in Southern Nevada until now.
On Sunday, Clark County Detention Center records show Nelson was booked into the jail on a three-year-old arrest warrant charging her with theft more than $100,000, conspiracy to commit theft and conducting a financial transaction with intent to evade reporting.
Nelson is being held without bail. She is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court Tuesday for a bail hearing.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com
