Nevada Government Employee Insurance Fraud Trial Begins

Trial has begun in federal court in Las Vegas for a 49-year-old senior Clark County, Nev., human resources analyst accused of conspiring with a dead former judge to steal $824,000 from an auto insurance company.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that a prosecutor Gregory Damm told a jury Monday that Erik Holman used stolen money to take cruises and overseas trips.

Holman pleaded not guilty to a 2011 federal grand jury indictment accusing him of conspiracy and wire fraud.

He’s accused of conspiring with former Henderson Municipal Court Judge John Provost to embezzle money from American Family Insurance between October 2005 and April 2009.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Raquel Lazo told the jury that Provost acted alone.

Provost was 48 when he committed suicide in July 2009, amid embezzlement allegations.