Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Donations raise issue of conflict in AG race

Las Vegas attorney John Hunt said Tuesday that if he wins the attorney general's race, he will not be influenced by the $160,000 his campaign has received through connections with a mortgage company whose practices have been questioned in a complaint to the state.

Hunt, a Democrat, has received more than 25 percent of his total $600,000 campaign fund from Vestin Mortgage, its subsidiaries and employees, or through a donations taken in at a fund-raiser held by Vestin's founder and Chief Executive Mike Shustek.

In several previous debates Hunt has alleged that his Republican opponent, Brian Sandoval, would not be willing to investigate the gaming industry or companies such as Nevada Power that have given Sandoval campaign money.

Despite that argument against his opponent, Hunt said Tuesday that he did not believe the Vestin donations would impact his decision-making.

"If Mike Shustek did something untoward to the citizens of Nevada, I would be his worst nightmare," Hunt said Tuesday.

In March 2001 developer Howard Bulloch -- who has previously sued Shustek -- filed a complaint with the state Financial Institutions Division alleging 749 violations of state law by Vestin and its related entity, Del Mar Mortgage.

In an interview, Shustek said the complaints are only a result of the lawsuit Bulloch, whom he called a "disgruntled borrower," filed against him.

The Nevada attorney general's office has no record of complaints or investigations against Vestin, office spokesman Tom Sargent said.

Shustek said his company is "in great standing" with the state's Financial Institutions Division, receiving the equivalent of a "clean bill of health" after an annual audit.

Administrator Scott Walshaw of the state's Financial Institutions Division did not return calls seeking comment.

On Tuesday an attorney representing Bulloch filed a writ in District Court seeking to compel the state's financial division to act on the original complaint, alleging the agency has not responded to the charges.

Sandoval's campaign said Tuesday that Hunt should have avoided Vestin because of the complaint against the company, which is a short-term real estate and construction lender.

"I think the attorney general has to be held to a higher standard when it comes to campaign financing," said Sandoval campaign consultant Pete Ernaut. "When you have a 700-count complaint pending ... that $160,000 should be of concern. You probably should have checked to see what they wanted."

Shustek said he doesn't understand why his company's newfound political contribution activity is raising hackles in the attorney general's race.

The secretary of state's office and the state Financial Institutions Division regulate securities and mortgage companies, he said.

"The attorney general's office isn't my regulator," Shustek said.

Shustek said Vestin, whose board is full of local politicos like former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones and former Gaming Control Board Chairman Steve DuCharm, has donated to a number of candidates this cycle.

In addition to Hunt, Vestin has donated to Democrat John Lee who is running for controller, U.S. Rep Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Democrat Bob Forbuss, a Vestin board member who is running for Regent. Vestin employees and Shustek have also attended fund-raisers for sheriff candidate Bill Young and for two U.S. Senate candidates in other states thrown by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

"We had never been involved in politics much," Shustek said. "But as Harry Reid once told me, you're always going to have government and you should have a say in who represents you."

Shustek and Hunt both said they met each other when Hunt's law partner Tim McGarry -- a 15-year friend of Shustek's -- introduced them.

"John presented himself well and everybody in the office was impressed with him," Shustek said. "We just think John Hunt is the best man for the job."

Hunt called criticism of the contributions "a smokescreen."

"We know the industries that are truly affecting our state," Hunt said. "As far as Mr. Shustek vs. Nevada Power, I think the voters can see the huge difference."

And Hunt reiterated criticism of Sandoval by citing campaign money Sandoval took from Sierra Pacific Resources Chairman Walt Higgins after the company's sister entity, Nevada Power, $922 million rate hike request.

In his latest campaign filing, Sandoval reported taking a $250 donation from Higgins. His campaign said the total donations identified as coming from Nevada Power and its employees and related entities is $6,450.

During a Sept. 4 debate at the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association meeting in Las Vegas, Hunt criticized Sandoval saying: "Once you start taking money from them ... how can you possibly suggest that you're going to litigate them."

During a Sept. 10 debate before the Washoe County Bar Association, Hunt reiterated that message saying: "The question becomes, is this a sage thing to do? Is this something that you'd eventually think you might have to litigate against the people that you're going to take that money from, when you know you're going to hold an office when you're adverse to them? Is this the kind of guy that you want to represent you as the head of the Consumer Advocate Division?"

Ernaut said the comparison is "like comparing King Kong to a monkey in the zoo."

He said that since complaints have been filed against Vestin, Hunt should have steered clear of the contributions.

"John Hunt himself said in a debate that your ability to prosecute someone is impacted by contributions," Ernaut said. "This isn't a hypothetical chance, it's an absolute certainty."

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