A former construction company owner who was sentenced to over 15 years in prison for a $58.1 million scheme to defraud Las Vegas-area homeowner associations (HOA) had his sentence commuted by President Joe Biden.
According to combined media reports, Leon Benzer is the former owner of Silver Lining Construction. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to multiple fraud and tax evasion counts related to a scheme where he recruited straw buyers to purchase condominiums and obtain positions on their HOA boards of directors. Once on the boards, these individuals were paid to select Benzer’s company for construction contracts.
As a result of this scheme, the HOAs suffered from substandard repair work and diminished property values, while also impacted mortgage companies involved with the properties within the HOAs.
The US Department of Justice said 39 individuals were sentenced to prison in connection with the scheme, which prosecutors at the time dubbed the largest political corruption case in Southern Nevada history; four other people connected to the scheme committed suicide before they went to trial. Benzer was sentenced to over 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $13 million in restitution.
According to prison records, Benzer is now assigned to the residential re-entry management field office in Phoenix, where his release date is listed as July 26, 2025. The Biden commutation, which covered 1,500 individuals, claimed the recipients of the presidential generosity “have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance.” part of the statement read.
Charles La Bella, who was the lead prosecutor in the case against Benzer, pointed to the successful prosecution of Benzer, adding, “What the politicians do after that is their decision.”
;
