Nevada AG Aaron Ford Faces Advancing Ethics Complaint Over Luxury Junkets Funded by Special Interests

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, the Democrat gunning for Governor Joe Lombardo’s seat in 2026, is now under formal scrutiny from the Nevada Commission on Ethics after a review panel advanced a complaint alleging he abused his taxpayer-funded office to fund a lavish lifestyle of international travel at the expense of Nevadans.

The complaint, initiated late last year and advanced last week by the commission’s review panel, accuses Ford of violating four key subsections of Nevada ethics law: using his government position for personal or another’s gain, employing government resources for private benefit, accepting improper gifts or benefits, and influencing subordinates.

Bernie Zadrowski, a retired Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney, filed the  ethics complaint and cited over 100 examples of potential ethics violations related to Ford’s alleged intermingling of his official Attorney General and campaign social media accounts.

If the commission finds willful violations, Ford could face significant fines.

According to records obtained by local media, the allegations center on Ford accepting more than $35,000 in “luxury” trips sponsored by the Attorney General Alliance — a nonprofit heavily funded by corporations that have business before his office or face potential regulation and litigation from it. 

Over his tenure, Ford has racked up junkets to opulent destinations including France, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Qatar, and South Africa, with total special interest-funded travel exceeding $140,000. In one year alone, he spent 137 days out-of-state, prompting critics to brand him Nevada’s “part-time” top cop.

“Aaron Ford has disgraced his office and made a mockery of public service,” said Better Nevada PAC spokesman John Burke in a blistering statement. “He has no business leading our state and is wholly unfit to serve the people of Nevada.” The PAC, which backs incumbent Gov. Lombardo, has already poured over $1 million into ads hammering Ford’s travel habits as evidence of misplaced priorities amid Nevada’s economic challenges.

137 vacation days outside of Nevada in just one year.@AaronDFordNV blew off his taxpayer-funded job while Nevadans were here, working and raising families.

High-Flying Ford doesn't deserve a promotion, he deserves to be unemployed.#NVleg #NVgov pic.twitter.com/QXg2N6tJ0e

— Nevada War Room – Better NV PAC (@BetterNevadaPAC) February 13, 2026

This latest development adds fuel to a growing pattern of ethical questions dogging Ford’s gubernatorial campaign. As previously reported by the California Globe, Ford’s jet-setting ways have long raised red flags about blurred lines between official duties and personal perks:

• In October 2025, the Globe highlighted how Ford spent one-third of 2024 outside Nevada on a mix of “business” and campaign trips to places like France, Singapore, Taiwan, Macau, Mexico, Cape Cod, Chicago, the Kentucky Derby, and Martha’s Vineyard.
• Our January 2026 coverage detailed his “frequent flyer addiction,” with campaign filings showing nearly $140,000 in travel expenses over two years, including heavy airfare and hotel costs largely covered by campaign dollars.
• An earlier ethics complaint in November 2025 accused Ford of improperly linking his personal campaign X account to the official @NevadaAG page, allegedly using taxpayer resources to boost his run for governor.

Ford’s out-of-state fundraising dependency has also drawn scrutiny, with heavy reliance on progressive donors from California and elsewhere — including endorsements from Gov. Gavin Newsom and Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett— as he pushes policies critics say would import California’s failed experiments to Nevada.

Governor Lombardo enters the race with a record-breaking $15 million war chest, much of it raised in-state, positioning him as popular with Nevadan donors–a stark contrast to Ford’s globetrotting fundraising. With polls showing the race in a dead heat—though some surveys under-sample independents—Ford’s strategy of courting national and controversial figures like Newsom and Crockett may backfire in a swing state that, in the last two elections, ousted an incumbent Democrat governor, ushered in a Republican governor, rejected Kamala Harris, and voted to send a Republican to the White House.

The Ethics Commission has 60 days to issue a ruling on the advanced complaint. Ford’s office has not yet responded publicly to the advancement, but his campaign has previously dismissed similar scrutiny as politically motivated attacks from Lombardo allies.