Latest news with #Fishersville
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Following reported suicide attempt, Augusta County businessman's sentencing rescheduled
This story discusses the possibility of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at Sentencing in a federal tax case for an Augusta County businessman convicted of defrauding the IRS is back on track after a reported suicide attempt last month likely derailed a trip to prison. Richard Moore, 47, of Fishersville, was indicted in December 2021 on multiple charges, but the government said he continued to bilk the IRS even after being indicted. Moore is the former vice president of Nexus Services Inc., a company that was once headquartered in Verona. Moore was supposed to be sentenced the morning of May 29 in United States District Court in Harrisonburg. But Moore didn't show after an online post that same day appeared to indicate he was preparing to commit suicide. Court records state he did not attend the hearing "due to a health-related matter." Sentencing has been rescheduled for July 21, online records show. In January, Moore pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud in federal court after failing to pay the IRS more than $3.1 million in trust fund taxes while he managed the finances at Nexus, where he was also once a part-owner. For numerous quarters, beginning around 2015 and through the first quarter of 2024, Moore withheld tax funds but did not pay them over to the IRS and did not file returns, according to the justice department. Nexus, hit with an $811 million judgement last year in a federal lawsuit that included Moore and his husband, Mike Donovan, provided bond securitization for immigrants held or released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. More: Nexus owners accused of stealing $426,000 from brother of Florida school shooter In a sentencing memorandum filed by Trial Attorney William M. Montague of the Justice Department's Tax Division, it states he wants Moore behind bars for a decade. Montague said the cash that Moore did not turn over to the IRS was used, in part, to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a fleet of several sports sports cars, $322,000 for the band Fall Out Boy to perform at a birthday party, $1 million for a book by his husband that used a ghostwriter, and more than a half-million dollars for his wedding to Donovan. Montague said Moore went through more than $11 million the past decade or so to keep up his lavish lifestyle. Moore's attorney, Mario Williams, who is seeking a probationary sentence of five years, said his client was overwhelmed by his duties at Nexus. "In 2014, Nexus started to grow at a startling pace. Mr. Moore had no professional training or expertise and managing the financial affairs of the company quickly became more than he could handle," Williams said in his sentencing memorandum. "Simply put, he was way over his head. Allowing that Mr. Moore was ill-equipped to perform increasingly complex financial management is not to excuse him for failing to file returns and pay over tax trust funds in a consistent and lawful manner, but it does explain how the problem snowballed out of control." Court records show Moore remains free on bond. Moore is also facing charges in a $426,000 theft case in Augusta County, and will go on trial in September. More: Carilion Clinic Family Medicine in Weyers Cave is closing. What we know Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@ You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Sentencing hearing set once again for Augusta County businessman
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-teacher's aide, accused of sex crimes with students, jailed again on new charges
A former teacher's aide at a Fishersville school who is accused of sexually assaulting male students was jailed on a new batch of charges after recently being granted bond. Authorities initially arrested 23-year-old Beyonce M. Mass, of Staunton, on May 28 on two charges of taking indecent liberties with a child by a custodian after she was directly indicted by the Augusta County grand jury. A direct indictment bypasses the lower courts and the case begins in the circuit court. Mass was a teacher's aide at the Valley Academy Regional Alternative School, which is located on John Lewis Road in Fishersville. The Augusta County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation of Mass in December following a referral from Child Protective Services. The sheriff's office said it determined multiple inappropriate relationships between Mass and male students allegedly took place off campus. Mass is no longer employed by the school. More: Staunton's Frontier Culture Museum is expanding with the addition of an indoor space On June 2, she appeared in Augusta County Circuit Court via video monitoring from Middle River Regional Jail in Verona for a bond hearing following her initial arrest. At the hearing, where she was given a $5,000 bond and placed on home electronic monitoring, Augusta County Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney William Sukovich said the investigation of Mass started after a male juvenile was caught sneaking out of his home. When the parents of the teen, who was under the age of 16, confronted Mass, Sukovich said she requested permission to continue the alleged relationship. Mass had known the student for a "few years" and worked with him at the school, the prosecutor said. Mass sexually abused the boy on at least two occasions, according to Sukovich, and she is suspected of providing alcohol to the teen by dropping it off at his home. He said there is online evidence that she also discussed alcohol and marijuana with the juvenile. After a judge gave her a secured $5,000 bond, Mass was released from jail the next day on June 3. But just one day later, county authorities arrested her on three additional charges of taking indecent liberties with a child by a custodian. Lt. Leslie Snyder, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, said the reported victim was a teenager. The alleged offense dates were in 2024, she said. Mass will appear in Augusta County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court on June 6 for a bond hearing on the three new charges. She remains at Middle River Regional Jail. More: After recovering from injury, Riverheads' Piner ready for state track and field meet More: Battle of the Bands 2025 to rock the Foundry in support of dental care for all This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Ex-teacher's aide charged again in Augusta County, jailed
