A Manhattan jury in the civil corruption case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its former chief executive officer found the National Rifle Association (NRA) liable for financial mismanagement. It was decided that there was.
The jury found that Wayne LaPierre’s breach of duty cost the NRA $5.4 million, but he has already repaid the NRA about $1 million.
LaPierre was ordered to repay $4,351,231 to the group.
A New York jury said the NRA’s CEO misappropriated millions of dollars of the group’s funds on personal purchases of luxury goods over three decades.
The decision was made after five days of deliberations.
New York state office reaches settlement with former NRA officials days before trial against gun advocacy group leader
Wayne LaPierre, former NRA CEO and vice president; (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
Mr. James filed the lawsuit in 2020, naming the NRA, Mr. LaPierre, former chief financial officer Wilson “Woody” Phillips, and general counsel John Frazier as defendants. Executives used millions of dollars in company funds on lavish personal purchases and trips, including several on Mr. LaPierre’s trip to the Bahamas, according to the attorney general’s office. He claimed it included $100,000.
But the NRA has long maintained that the incident was politically motivated by the attorney general, who campaigned for the agency and vowed to investigate and confront the group. James was elected to Congress in November 2018, and during his time as New York’s chief law officer, he publicly criticized the NRA. On the campaign trail, Mr. James called the group a “dangerous propaganda machine” and vowed to investigate whether the NRA can maintain its charitable status.
New York state lawsuit against NRA leaders goes to trial after court again rejects allegations of political investigation into gun group
“The NRA is a dangerous propaganda machine masquerading as a public interest charity,” James wrote in a July 2018 campaign press release. “The plan is set up by gun manufacturers who think it’s a better idea to arm teachers.”It will be even harder for children to get military-style guns. ”
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks outside the New York State Supreme Court ahead of former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial on October 2, 2023 in New York. (AP Photo/Britteny Newman)
Weeks before the election, she described the NRA as a “terrorist organization” in comments to Ebony magazine and a “criminal organization” in comments to local media in New York.
In August 2020 she Dissolution suit He is aiming to dismantle the NRA over corruption allegations. A New York State Supreme Court judge ultimately blocked Mr. James’ efforts to dissolve the group in a 2022 ruling, saying the lawsuit did not meet the requirements to subject the group to the “corporate death penalty.” A judge has allowed the lawsuit against NRA executives to proceed. James accused NRA officials of “years of illegal self-dealing” that provided a “luxury lifestyle.”
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In a trial that began last month, LaPierre and three other defendants were accused by Assistant Attorney General Monica Connell of having their “hands in the cookie jar” and that the four were trying to divert and downplay the funds. insisted. .
“They’re going to try to get Cookie to think about something other than what happened,” she says. “They’re going to blame someone other than themselves.”
National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre speaks at the NRA-ILA Conference Leadership Forum at the George R. Brown Convention Center on May 27, 2022 in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
State prosecutors said at trial that Mr. LaPierre spent about $11 million on commercial flights, about $500,000 on several trips to the Bahamas, and “placed lucrative no-show contracts on former employees to buy merchandise.” It looks like it was spread out,” he said. their silence and continued loyalty. ”
New York state lawsuit against NRA leaders goes to trial after court again rejects allegations of political investigation into gun group
LaPierre, who resigned last month after serving as the NRA’s CEO and executive vice president since 1991, said at the beginning of the trial that he had made governance changes within the organization starting in 2021 and had repaid the group about $300,000. Ta. LaPierre’s lawyers argued at trial that the former NRA chief’s prominent national status, amid the acrimonious gun debate, necessitated the use of a commercial plane for security reasons.
“This is a story made up by someone who wanted to get him off the field,” Kent Correll, LaPierre’s attorney, said in closing arguments Thursday.
New York Attorney General Letitia James described the NRA as a “terrorist organization” in comments to Ebony magazine. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“If this case is so important, why isn’t she here?” he added, referring to James’ absence from court on Thursday.
New York judge orders NRA to pay nearly $500,000 in legal costs in Supreme Court ruling
The NRA’s legal team argued during the trial that the organization sought to address potential corruption when such issues were first raised by a whistleblower.
“Once the fraud was discovered, we dug in. We turned over rocks that we were told not to turn over,” attorney Sarah Rogers said. “The NRA did everything possible.”
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“If this is a case about corruption, it’s not from the NRA,” she added.
