Former governor named to oversee seized $22 million

Angela Soo

Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2001 | 10:06 a.m.

A judge on Tuesday appointed three people, including former Gov. Bob Miller, to oversee $22 million in assets seized from a man believed to be involved in a Ponzi scheme.

District Judge Mark Denton appointed retired District Judge Carl J. Christensen and Daniel T. Gerety, a certified public accountant, along with Miller to make recommendations on how to handle the money and property taken from Franklyn Perry until the case is resolved.

"We're dealing with a sizeable amount of money, and I feel it's necessary to have three people considering it," Denton said.

Miller will serve as chief special master and lead the panel overseeing the funds. The three-member group combines "administrative, judicial and financial experience and qualifications" Denton wrote in a court order.

The group will decide how to handle other seized items that include vehicles, furniture, electronic products and memorabilia, said Deputy District Attorney Mitchell Cohen, who represents Metro Police. Metro has been paying for the cost of storing the items.

Police allege that Perry, as part of a Ponzi scheme, told investors he was loaning money to high-roller gamblers who had hit their credit limits at area casinos, police said.

Police said Perry would pay some investors a few hundred dollars a week, saying the payments were returns on the money they gave him. The weekly payoffs often enticed others into the scheme, which required a minimum buy-in of $10,000.

Although the police have seized more than $22 million in assets from Perry, more than 1,000 people claim they lost more than $40 million, Cohen said.

Perry has not yet been charged in connection with the fraud case, but prosecutors are in the process of preparing for either a preliminary hearing or grand jury proceeding.

Perry is currently in the Clark County Detention Center awaiting trial on unrelated charges. He faces charges of sexual assault with a minor, lewdness with a child, use of a minor in the production of pornography and possession of child pornography.

The Las Vegas resident is also facing at least one civil trial, having been sued by several of his alleged victims for fraud.