STAUNTON — Richard E. Moore, a former Nexus Services Inc. executive who is already under house arrest at his Fishersville residence, could have new digs come Wednesday at the Middle River Regional Jail.

Mired in legal woes, the former Nexus executive lost his bid Monday in court to withdraw his plea in an Augusta County perjury case that has dragged on for almost five years. But if Moore’s attorneys get their way, Wednesday’s scheduled sentencing hearing could still get postponed.

The perjury case got its start in September 2019 in the drive-thru lane of the Starbucks on Richmond Avenue in Staunton. Moore was sitting in a car and making a purchase when approached by a private process server, who handed him paperwork through the driver’s side window.

The process server used to work at Nexus and has been involved in numerous legal squabbles with his former employers.

Following the brief encounter, Moore went to an Augusta County magistrate and had the process server charged with misdemeanor assault in Staunton after accusing him of throwing a heavy pack of court documents. Moore claimed he was hit in the neck and chest.

However, the process server filmed the entire encounter and video showed Moore exaggerated the incident. In a letter to Moore, Staunton prosecutor Jeff Gaines said the video showed he was handed the papers. Moore was then charged with perjury in Augusta County, where he filed the initial assault complaint. The assault charge against the process server was dropped.

The case, mired by delays, appeared to be headed for a conclusion in September in Augusta County Circuit Court when Moore pleaded no contest to the perjury charge. In a plea agreement, he had to pick up litter for 40 hours before Dec. 1 through the Augusta County Litter Control Program, and after a year the perjury charge would have been dismissed had he done so. But Moore didn’t complete any of his community service, violating his deal with the Augusta County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

In December, after Moore reneged on the deal, a judge found him guilty in the perjury case and set a sentencing date of April 3. He was also placed on home electronic monitoring after being briefly jailed for violating his bond conditions in an unrelated Augusta County theft case after he left the state on multiple occasions.

About two weeks ago, Moore’s attorneys filed motions seeking to withdraw his plea in the perjury case, and also asked Judge Shannon Sherrill to recuse himself in an effort to have the case heard by another judge. On Monday, Sherrill ruled against the motions.

Wednesday’s sentencing hearing is set for 10 a.m., but a motion for a continuance by Moore’s attorneys on Monday was taken under advisement by Sherrill, meaning there could be yet another delay in the case.

Based on preliminary state sentencing guidelines, which are not binding, the 46-year-old Moore now faces up to 10 months in jail on the perjury charge.

According to the Augusta County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Moore has been convicted of fraud 11 times and charged with a total of 33 felonies in Virginia, not including his current federal charges. Moore is a former executive at Nexus Services Inc. and once owned a portion of the company with his husband, Mike Donovan, who retains 90 percent ownership.

On Monday, Moore and Donovan were ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in an $811 million federal lawsuit. Last year, the Verona campus of Nexus Services Inc. was auctioned off after the property went into foreclosure.

In July, the couple will be tried in Augusta County on allegations they stole $426,000 from the brother of convicted Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz. Timothy Shipe, a Nexus executive, is also charged in the case.

Moore will also be tried later this year on 10 federal charges of employment tax fraud along with two charges of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return after being accused of bilking the IRS out of an estimated $1.5 million while he worked at Nexus.

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: Ex-Nexus executive set for sentencing Wednesday in Augusta County