Las Vegas police are investigating former Clark County Executive Robert Telles for allegedly orchestrating a home-flip scheme to profit personally from real estate sales handled by his office, a source familiar with the investigation told the Review-Journal.
Sources say Telles allegedly carried out the scheme from 2020 until his September arrest in the murder of Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German. Telles contacted at least one real estate agent, who refused to participate in the sale and contacted police.
Mr. Telles, whose elected office is to manage the estate and protect the property of the deceased while family members and executors are in place, authorized the sale of the home below market value to individuals with whom he has a working relationship. The buyer would then resell the property within months and share the profits with Mr. Telles, the people said.
Beginning in May, Mr. Gelman had written a series of articles alleging turmoil and infighting in Mr. Telles' office over the past two years, including allegations of bullying and favoritism and that Mr. Telles and a colleague had been secretly videotaped outside the office. Prosecutors say Mr. Telles was upset by the articles, and authorities accuse him of “ambushing” Mr. Gelman at his home and stabbing the journalist to death on September 2.
The Review-Journal has investigated more than 90 real estate transactions in which a trustee was the original seller since 2019. The news organization identified seven sales in which the property was resold, often within months, for a large profit.
If all of those properties were part of the scheme police are investigating, the profits could total about $500,000, according to an analysis of property records.
Sales raises questions
Sean McCoy, an associate professor of business at UNLV who also reviewed and analyzed the data at the Review-Journal's request, said the sale certainly raises questions.
“This is a bit of an anomaly,” he said. “It tends to deviate from the overall market.”
According to his analysis, the home flips identified by the Review-Journal made a 32 percentage point higher profit than the average resale in Clark County during that same period. The average home flip in the county made about 20 percent profit in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The seven flips identified by the Review-Journal made an average profit of about 52 percent, a 1.6-fold increase, he said.
McCoy said many factors can affect the profitability of a resale, including the neighborhood, whether the property is priced fairly and the condition of the home.
In one of the seven sales, real estate investor Matthew R. Sherman bought the home at 7054 Magic Mountain Lane from the receiver in November 2021 for $355,000 and sold it two months later for a profit of nearly $65,000.
Sherman said he bought the property through competitive bidding, putting down $30,000 or $40,000, and making a much smaller profit.
“There have never been any secret transactions[with the homes he has purchased]because the courts have made the bidding process public,” he said, “but I wouldn't be surprised if there continue to be secret transactions.”
The Review-Journal is not further releasing the names of the individuals involved in the sale because they have not been charged with a crime.
Telles, a Democrat, was elected county commissioner in 2018. He previously ran the Accolade law firm in Las Vegas. Telles was fired from his position in September after being charged with murdering German.
County spokesman Eric Papa did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday but issued a statement about the plans Wednesday morning: “The court approved the sale of all of the homes pursuant to the court-appointed authority of a Certified Administrator to manage the estate of a deceased person. Once the estate property has been disposed of, the county has no statutory obligation regarding any subsequent sales. The county has no knowledge of any subsequent home sales from which Mr. Tellez may have allegedly profited, and any suspected illegal activity will be reported to the Louisiana State Police.”
Telles' lawyer, Ryan Helmick, could not be reached for comment.
Sources told the Review-Journal that Metro detectives are interviewing employees in the administrator's office and serving subpoenas on the county.
Kimberly McMahon, a Las Vegas real estate agent who retired last year as a Clark County Jail lieutenant, was contacted by Telles about the scheme and reported it to authorities, according to sources. When reached on Monday, she would not discuss her role in the investigation. “I don't want to say anything,” she said.
Police are still reviewing Telles' bank records, and there is no timetable for completing the investigation, the people said.
The Nevada Supreme Court also temporarily suspended Telles' license to practice law, finding he may have misappropriated funds from clients he represented as a private attorney before being elected to the Nevada government.
“Tellés is charged with murder and appears to have transferred significant amounts of funds from the trust account after he left private practice in 2022 to become a public servant,” the order filed Oct. 19 said.
Previous articles have stated that the analysis results are presented in percentages rather than percentage points.
Contact Arthur Cain at 702-383-0286 or akane@reviewjournal.com. translator Cain is part of the Review-Journal's investigative team, focused on reporting that holds leaders and institutions accountable and exposes wrongdoing. Review-Journal reporters Eli Segal and Brianna Erickson contributed to this report.