Two leaders and an employee of the company Nexus, formerly based in Verona, pled not guilty to financial exploitation crimes in court on Monday. The case is scheduled to go to trial next month. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Michael Donovan and Richard Moore, the couple that formerly led the company Nexus, and their employee Timothy Shipe, all pled not guilty to allegedly stealing more than $400,000 from Zachary Cruz – a young man the couple took in in 2018. Donovan and Moore each face four felony counts – financially exploiting a vulnerable adult, obtaining money by false pretenses, and conspiring to commit both crimes. Shipe faces two felony charges related to the conspiracy.
Donovan and his attorney, Eugene Oliver, are due back in court on Feb. 23 to determine whether Oliver can continue to represent him, because one of the prosecution's potential witnesses was previously represented by an attorney that works for Oliver.
Also on Monday, both sides – and an attorney for Shenandoah Valley Social Services – argued over a slew of motions regarding what evidence should be allowed in the case. Lindsay Combs, an employee of the social services agency, has been appointed by the court as Cruz's legal guardian. Richard Moore's attorney, Caleb Routhier, argued he should be given the chance to interview Cruz ahead of the trial, and both he and Donovan's attorney seek access to Cruz's confidential guardianship records.
An attorney for the social services agency said this motion "should not be used as a fishing expedition." Oliver argued that Cruz's mental capacity or incapacity is central to the commonwealth's case against his client, so they need to see the relevant records. Judge Sean Workowski allowed the attorneys to obtain the commonwealth's copies of these files, with restrictions on who can access them.
Combs argued that it would be detrimental for Routhier to interview Cruz, due to "past trauma" inflicted on him by the defendants, and the fact that a previous attorney tried to get to him while he was in psychiatric care under an emergency custody order. Workowski said he was inclined to deny Routhier's motion, but allowed him to submit questions in writing for Combs to review.
Workowski did not make a decision about whether the prosecution can bring up Moore's conviction for federal tax evasion, which they say was a primary motive for the financial exploitation. Moore is currently serving a six-plus year sentence for those crimes. Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Alex Meador said the Internal Revenue Service has refused to testify in this case, which is why they need to reference the conviction.
A five-day jury trial is scheduled to begin March 9. It's been delayed six times since the defendants were arrested in 2022.
