DA hopes to protect seized assets in alleged scheme

Kim Smith

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 | 8:51 a.m.

The Clark County district attorney's office may soon be joining a civil lawsuit filed against a Las Vegas man accused of bilking more than a thousand people out of millions in a Ponzi scheme.

Deputy District Attorney Mitchell Cohen said he filed a motion Friday asking District Judge Mark Denton to add the DA's office to a civil lawsuit filed by five people against Franklyn Perry.

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 he 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, police said.

Although the police have seized more than $22 million from Perry, the 1,000-plus victims claim they lost more than $40 million, Cohen said.

If Denton grants the motion, the DA's office could then obtain permission to deposit the seized assets with the court and protect them as evidence, Cohen said.

The office would also be able to recover the money Metro Police has spent to store other items seized from Perry, such as vehicles, memorabilia, furniture and electronic items, Cohen said.

The seized money is being kept in an interest-bearing account, Cohen said.

Cohen's motion comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by Perry last week requesting the seized assets be returned to him and a group of his investors. Perry claims the police are guilty of committing an "unlawful seizure."

Perry's lawsuit will likely be a topic of discussion on Nov. 21, when Denton is expected to address Cohen's motion.

Perry also 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 in an unrelated case.