Assault charge won't be pursued against former CEO of Nexus Services Inc.
On May 27, the decision was made in Augusta County General District Court to not prosecute the charge.
Donovan had been accused of assaulting 25-year-old Zachary Cruz at his Fishersville home, where Cruz lived for several years.
Cruz is the younger brother of Nikolas Cruz, who shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Shortly after the shooting, Donovan and his husband, Richard Moore, took in the younger Cruz and moved him to Virginia. He lived with the couple until recently.
Zachary Cruz is also listed as the victim in a current Augusta County theft case involving Donovan and Moore, also a former Nexus executive. Another former Nexus executive, Timothy Shipe, is implicated in the alleged scheme as well.
The trio is accused of orchestrating the theft of $426,000 from Cruz and are scheduled to be tried in September in front of a jury. Cruz and his brother received an insurance payout following the death of their mother prior to the school massacre. Donovan and Moore face two charges each of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and obtaining money by false pretenses in the alleged theft. Shipe is facing two felonies.
Based on charges in the theft case, Cruz is considered a vulnerable adult. According to Virginia law, the term applies to any person 18 years of age or older who is impaired by reason of mental illness, intellectual or developmental disability, physical illness or disability, or other causes, and lacks a sufficient understanding to make reasonable decisions.
Cruz has since moved out of Donovan and Moore's residence and is being assisted by Adult Protective Services, according to Augusta County Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Katie Jackson.
Cruz also recently went missing but was safely located. Jackson said his brief disappearance didn't have an impact on the case, and said the decision to not pursue the assault charge against Donovan was an effort to focus on the upcoming September jury trial on the theft allegations.
"It was not in the best interest of justice at this time," Jackson said when asked about not prosecuting Donovan on the misdemeanor charge.
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Donovan was suspected of assaulting Cruz on March 9. The two were in a verbal argument concerning a dog before the incident allegedly turned physical, and Donovan was accused of wrestling Cruz to the ground.
At an earlier court hearing, Donovan told the court that Cruz was the aggressor during the incident and said he was certain he would be found not guilty on the misdemeanor assault charge.
Donovan, Moore and Shipe all remain free on bond. However, Moore will be sentenced May 29 in federal court in Harrisonburg after pleading guilty in January to two charges of tax fraud for bilking the IRS out of nearly $3.2 million while he worked at Nexus.
The once high-flying company, which provided bond securitization for immigrants held or released from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saw its Verona campus auctioned off for $3.4 million in 2023 after the property went into foreclosure. Nexus pulled in an estimated $230 million while in operation for nearly a decade or so.
Court files state Nexus was sold last year in April for less than $5, the same month a federal judge ruled that Donovan, Moore, and minority owner Evan Ajin – along with Nexus and a subsidiary – pay $811 million for violating various state consumer protection laws and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. Moore, Donovan and Ajin were ordered to pay over $111 million each in the lawsuit.
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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@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Assault charge against ex-Nexus Services Inc. CEO won't be pursued
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Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
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Guerrero-Cruz told Becerra that the agents said it was 'lucky for him, for them, they would be able to have drinks that weekend,' she said, recounting her conversation with the student. 'So my question is, who are these people that took him?' Becerra asked. 'So yes, I am concerned that these were bounty hunters.' When asked if the claim about a $1,500 payment for the student's arrest was accurate or if the department employs bounty hunters, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded: 'Claims that DHS uses private contractors or 'bounty hunters' to make arrests are false,' the department stated, adding that it's also false that its officers acted improperly in any way. A spokesperson, in a written response, did not directly address the allegation about a $1,500 payment. 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Newsweek
2 days ago
- Newsweek
High Schooler Detained by ICE Couldn't Shower for a Week, Teacher Says
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Engadget
2 days ago
- Engadget
10 Pixels in, the purpose of a Google-made smartphone remains the same
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