Ahead of a long-awaited financial exploitation trial that's slated to begin next week, the founder of the company Nexus, formerly based in Verona, was arrested for allegedly running up debt in the name of another young man previously in his care. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Michael Donovan and Richard Moore, the married couple that previously led the multi-million dollar company Nexus, are slated to go on trial in Augusta County next week for allegedly stealing more than $400,000 from Zachary Cruz, a young man who lived with the couple from around 2018 to 2025. They each face six felony charges in the case. Moore is currently serving a six-plus-year sentence in federal prison for tax evasion. Cruz is now under the legal guardianship of Shenandoah Valley Social Services.
Cruz, the younger brother of the convicted Parkland school shooter, received the money from a life insurance payout from his late mother. A forensic accountant's report filed in the Augusta County case details some of the ways Moore and Donovan spent that money, including payments to credit card companies, Versace, Gucci, Ferrari, and BMW. Previously filed documents state they sent $300,000 to the IRS for delinquent taxes Nexus owed.
The trial has been delayed seven times since the couple was charged four years ago, in a pattern that Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Alex Meador ascribed to the defendants' "various delay tactics" during a pretrial hearing on Friday.
In this hearing, Meador asked Judge Sean Workowski to revoke Donovan's bond and incarcerate him until the trial begins, because he was recently arrested in Page County and charged with two felonies – identity theft, and obtaining money by false pretenses. Donovan allegedly amassed about $3,000 in debt under the name of Samuel Orlando, a young man who lived with Donovan and Moore from age 11 until earlier this summer. Workowski said he did not see evidence Donovan posed a risk to the community, and allowed him to remain out on bond to prepare for trial.
A former Nexus employee, Timothy Shipe, faces two felony charges in this case – but in court on Friday, the judge granted the prosecution's motion to separate his proceedings from Donovan and Moore's. Meador said Shipe will be appearing as a witness in their trial. The trial begins Tuesday at the Augusta County Circuit Courthouse in Verona with jury selection and opening statements.
