David Boruchowitz: Arrest Scheme, Federal Case, and Sentence

David Boruchowitz, a former captain with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada, pleaded guilty in March 2025 to federal deprivation of rights under color of law and wire fraud for orchestrating the false 2019 arrest of Valley Electric Association CEO Angela Evans. In July 2025, a federal judge sentenced him to three years of probation, 180 days of curfew, and a $35,000 fine. He faced a maximum of 21 years and received no prison time.

The Scheme Behind the Arrest

On February 26, 2019, Boruchowitz arrested Angela Evans, the CEO of the Pahrump-based utility cooperative Valley Electric Association, on suspicion of embezzling roughly $80,000. He alleged she had billed the cooperative to move a power pole off a property she planned to buy. Investigators later found Evans did not even own the property when the work was done.¹

The arrest did not come from disinterested police work. Weeks earlier, Evans had fired former VEA executive Ken Johnson after thirteen female employees accused him of sexual harassment. On February 15, 2019, Johnson founded a group called “VEA Members for Change” to recall the VEA board and remove Evans. Boruchowitz, then a lieutenant with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office, helped Johnson set up the group and served as its spokesperson while simultaneously leading the criminal investigation of Evans.² Federal prosecutors said the arrest was part of a scheme to force Evans out and install Boruchowitz on the utility’s board.

After making the arrest, Boruchowitz used his role as the sheriff’s office public information officer to post a press release about the case on the department’s Facebook page, publicizing the charges widely.³ Then-Nye County District Attorney Chris Arabia reviewed the case and declined to file charges. The charges were formally dismissed on November 5, 2019, and VEA’s own internal investigation concluded the embezzlement allegations were “unfounded.”²

The Federal Case

On August 18, 2023, a federal grand jury in the District of Nevada indicted Boruchowitz on six counts: four counts of wire fraud, one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, and one count of perjury. Prosecutors alleged he obtained search warrants under false pretenses, caused the sheriff’s office to issue press releases that mischaracterized the arrest, and lied during a federal civil deposition about his role.⁴ The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Myhre and Bianca Pucci prosecuted it, later joined by Justin Washburne.

Boruchowitz initially pleaded not guilty. He was released with conditions that barred him from possessing a firearm or working as an active-duty police officer with arrest authority.⁵

In December 2024, Judge Andrew P. Gordon dismissed four wire fraud charges, ruling the indictment failed to allege facts showing Boruchowitz intended to obtain “money or property from the victims” and that there was no evidence he intended to obtain Evans’ job directly.⁶ On March 12, 2025, Boruchowitz pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of wire fraud. The plea deal removed the perjury charge and the remaining wire fraud counts.⁷

The Sentence

On July 15, 2025, Chief U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon sentenced Boruchowitz to three years of probation, 180 days of curfew, and a $35,000 fine plus a $125 penalty assessment. He received no prison time. The judge declined to order restitution.³

From the bench, Gordon told Boruchowitz, “You used the badge, you used the office, as a legitimate way to slander someone’s character,” and called the crimes “serious” and “brazen.”¹ Prosecutors noted in filings that Boruchowitz’s acceptance of responsibility had not been immediate.

Boruchowitz read a statement admitting he “failed to uphold the principles of justice and integrity” and acknowledged his involvement with the Members for Change group had compromised his ability to act as an unbiased officer. Asked by the judge whether he believed Evans was a victim, he answered, “She for sure is. She’s definitely involved in the collateral damage.”¹ His defense attorney, Crane Pomerantz of Clark Hill, said his client “looks forward to continuing to do good work for people,” citing Boruchowitz’s operation of a nonprofit called the Pahrump Disability Outreach Program.³

Evans testified at the hearing that her life, career, and reputation had been “destroyed.” Afterward she told reporters, “It’s about accountability. It’s about him violating his oath to serve and protect.”¹ The federal criminal case was terminated on July 16, 2025, the day after sentencing.⁸ No appeal by either side has been reported.

What Happened to Angela Evans and VEA

Evans had been hired as executive vice president of Valley Electric Association in early 2017 and promoted to permanent CEO in October 2018, becoming the cooperative’s first female CEO. A 59-year-old Hispanic woman, she took over an organization already reeling from the departure of her predecessor, Thomas Husted, amid allegations that VEA funds had been used as hush money in a sexual harassment matter.⁹ She also implemented VEA’s first rate hike in more than a decade, a 9.9 percent increase that angered members.¹⁰

VEA placed Evans on paid administrative leave the day of her arrest. After she filed an internal discrimination complaint alleging she had been targeted because of her race, sex, national origin, and age, the board voted on June 27, 2019, to terminate her employment effective June 30, 2019.²

The Civil Settlements

Evans pursued two civil cases. She sued Nye County and Boruchowitz for arresting her without probable cause and settled in December 2023 for $400,000, paid by the state of Nevada or its insurer because the state had indemnified Boruchowitz. Nye County was dismissed from that suit.⁵

In a separate action filed in June 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Evans sued VEA for wrongful termination and employment discrimination. Judge Anne R. Traum ruled on partial summary judgment in January 2023, allowing discrimination and retaliation claims to proceed while dismissing harassment-related claims. The case terminated in June 2023 in what has been described as a confidential settlement.¹

Earlier Misconduct at the Sheriff’s Office

The Evans arrest was not the first time Boruchowitz’s conduct came under scrutiny. In 2013, the Nevada Department of Public Safety investigated him for showing sexually explicit videos around the sheriff’s office. The videos had been seized during a child sex offense investigation. Boruchowitz, then a detective, admitted to showing them to “a lot of people” at the station, saying it was for “coping” and “comedy relief.” The fallout reached the courts: the Nevada Supreme Court ordered a new trial for the offender whose case produced the videos, citing the trial judge’s failure to allow questioning about Boruchowitz’s potential bias. Nye County settled a civil case with that offender for $35,000.¹¹

In 2015, the FBI investigated Boruchowitz for inappropriate relationships with criminals. He later testified that he received a 10-hour suspension over an “inappropriate relationship” with a probationer. Two former inmates alleged more serious misconduct: one said he made lewd gestures at her during booking, and another alleged he pressured her into sexual acts while trying to recruit her as a drug informant, saying she complied out of fear of arrest.¹¹

Both investigations were turned over to then-Sheriff Sharon Wehrly, who did not impose significant discipline. She promoted Boruchowitz to captain two years after the pornography investigation and two weeks after she took office.¹² Boruchowitz had supported Wehrly in her political campaigns.¹³ Wehrly lost her re-election bid in November 2022 to Joe McGill, in part because of investigative reporting that surfaced these issues. She died in 2023.

1
Pahrump Valley Times. Boruchowitz Sentenced to Probation in Wire Fraud Case
2
Justia. Evans v. Valley Electric Association, Inc.
3
8 News Now. Former Nye County Captain Avoids Prison Sentence After CEO’s Unlawful Arrest
4
U.S. Department of Justice. Nye County Captain Indicted for Federal Violations
5
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Settlement Reached Between Former CEO, Nye County Sheriff’s Captain
6
8 News Now. Judge Drops 4 Charges Against Nevada Sheriff’s Deputy Accused in False Arrest Scheme
7
U.S. Department of Justice. Former Nye County Captain Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Violation and Wire Fraud
8
CourtListener. United States v. Boruchowitz
9
The Nevada Independent. Now the Rent Comes Due: Valley Electric Board Faces Backlash After Rate Increase, Office Raid, Arrest of CEO
10
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Valley Electric Board in Pahrump Denies Financial Cover-Up
11
Pahrump Valley Times. Ethics Questions Haunt Sheriff’s Captain, Documents Reveal Alleged Abuse of Power
12
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Controversial Nye County Captain Placed on Administrative Leave
13
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Federal Judge Drops Some Charges Against Nye County Captain