Late joinder filing delays hearing in Nett, Fraser case
A hearing on whether Purcellville’s vice mayor and town manager will be tried together or separately has been postponed until Feb. 19 after special prosecutor Eric Olsen filed a motion for joinder only two days before the originally scheduled Feb. 12 hearing. Olsen’s motion was submitted Feb. 10, falling short of the court’s one-week advance filing requirement for joinder requests.
The two men appeared before Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Douglas Fleming on Thursday, Feb. 12, to address Olsen’s request for joinder, which would combine the cases into a single trial. Defense attorneys told the court the two-day window between the filing and the hearing provided limited time to prepare responses. Olsen apologized to the defense for the late filing, explaining that he had been involved in a multi-day jury trial in another court district.
In his motion, Olsen said the indictments against Vice Mayor Ben Nett and Town Manager Kwasi Fraser are identical and stem from the town’s decision to hire a consultant to conduct an independent review of the Purcellville Police Department. Olsen alleges the charges involve a scheme to manipulate the bidding process for that contract. The contract amount, listed publicly on the town’s bidding website at $12,000, served as the project threshold.
Earlier in the case, Olsen attended a scheduled hearing by videoconference in late summer 2025 after issues arose with in-person attendance. In January 2026, he submitted a joinder filing on a form that had to be corrected—both events that extended the court’s scheduling timelines.
Nett and Fraser were arrested last July. Both are charged with bid-rigging and commercial fraud. In addition, Nett faces four separate felony charges alleging he improperly accessed or used a law enforcement database.
Fraser’s attorney, John Boneta, argued in writing that there is insufficient evidence showing Fraser committed any criminal acts. He also noted that the four separate felony charges against Nett appear unrelated to Fraser, reinforcing his position that the cases should be tried separately and that joinder could unfairly prejudice his client.
Both attorneys had only two days between the filing of Olsen’s late motion and the Feb. 12 hearing to prepare responses. Nett’s attorney, Ryan Campbell, has until Feb. 17 to file his response to the motion.
During the Feb. 12 hearing, Olsen asked Judge Douglas Fleming to schedule a court date even without the joinder being approved, operating under the assumption that his joinder motion would be granted at the next hearing. Fleming denied the request, leaving the question of joinder pending until the Feb. 19 hearing.
Nett and Fraser were indicted on July 23, 2025. By the time of the Feb. 19 hearing, nearly seven months will have passed since the indictments were returned, and a trial date has yet to be set as the court continues to address procedural matters, including the pending joinder motion.
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