A Manhattan jury on Friday delivered a sweeping condemnation of the National Rifle Association, the nation's most prominent gun rights organization, alleging that its leaders engaged in years of financial misconduct and corruption. I put it down.
After a week of deliberations, jurors found that the group's former leader, Wayne LaPierre, used NRA funds to pay for personal expenses such as vacations, luxury flights and yacht rides for relatives and other Two executives were also found to have committed illegal acts. Fiduciary Duties to Nonprofit Organizations.
The lawsuit, filed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, has affected the upper echelons of gun rights organizations. In addition to Mr Lapierre, the defendants also included the group's former financial director Wilson Phillips and general counsel John Fraser. The NRA itself was found to be a defendant, ignoring whistleblowing and filing false returns to the state.
The NRA, once one of the most powerful lobbying groups in U.S. politics, has already suffered setbacks, defections and infighting in recent years, while a growing number of conservative states and nations seek to strengthen gun access. Guns continued to play a large role in political debate. Liberal strongholds like New York are trying to stem this trend.
The decision in the case brought by Ms. James was undoubtedly a low point for the group. This is her second major victory in the past week, following a verdict that awarded former President Donald J. Trump at least $454 million in a civil fraud trial.
James said late Friday that the NRA's ruling was a “huge victory for the people of New York.”
“For years, Wayne LaPierre used philanthropic funds to fund a lavish lifestyle, buying lavish trips, expensive clothing, insider deals, and other perks for himself and his family,” James said in a statement. “We were spending millions of dollars on it.” “Today, after years of rampant corruption and self-dealing, Wayne LaPierre and the NRA are finally being held accountable.”
Jurors found that Mr. LaPierre misappropriated $5.4 million. Although he has repaid some of that amount, he still has to repay $4.35 million. Mr. Phillips must repay $2 million.
In the second phase of the trial, the judge overseeing the case will decide whether a monitor should be set up to oversee the NRA's management of its charitable assets and whether Mr. LaPierre and Mr. Phillips serve as officers or directors of other agencies. will decide whether it should be banned. It is a New York nonprofit organization, Ms. James said in a statement.
But the group may also gain some benefit from the ruling. As a non-profit organization, any fines paid by the defendants will be returned to the organization. Still, this outcome is unlikely to provide any financial benefit, given that the NRA spends tens of millions of dollars a year in legal fees defending this and other cases.
LaPierre ran the organization for more than 30 years, but announced he was stepping down just before the trial began. He was present in court when the verdict was announced.
Neither he nor the defendant's attorney immediately commented after the verdict. LaPierre exited the courthouse surrounded by six court officials and private security and walked quickly to his car as reporters shouted questions and camera flashes flashed.
The six-week trial in state Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen's courtroom was based on a lawsuit filed in 2020 by Ms. James, who oversaw the NRA, which was chartered as a nonprofit organization in New York in 2020. It started. 1871.
Attorneys for Mr. James, a Democrat, presented extensive evidence at trial that Mr. LaPierre had spent millions of dollars on a series of improper expenditures, including avoiding traffic jams while traveling. Some of them were almost bizarre, such as using a helicopter for the purpose. NASCAR race. Other evidence indicates that Mr. LaPierre was seeking reimbursement for mosquito treatment and landscaping his home.
During the trial, NRA lawyers said that while Mr. LaPierre had done good things for his Second Amendment rights, his identity and admitted extravagance, including a spree in Beverly Hills, He claimed that he was not synonymous with Mr. LaPierre and tried to distance the organization from Mr. LaPierre. of the group.
“The NRA is not Wayne LaPierre,” the group's attorney Sarah B. Rogers said in her opening statement in January.
Mr. LaPierre testified that Mr. James repaid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the organization, with interest, in restitution he deemed insufficient.
On Friday, anti-gun control groups hailed the ruling as a long-awaited rebuke.
“With 2024 just two months away, the NRA has already succeeded in losing this trial, its longtime leader, and whatever political relevance it has left.''One such group, Every. said Nick Spurina, Town for Gun's senior vice president of law and policy. safety. “This ruling confirms what we've seen in recent elections, statehouses and Capitol Hill: Gun control advocates have never been weaker.”
Just before the trial began in January, the group's former director of general operations, Joshua L. Powell, reached a $100,000 settlement with the attorney general's office, admitting “misappropriation of charitable funds” and avoiding fiduciary liability. agreed to do so.
Mr. Powell, once a senior strategist for the NRA, has rebelled against the organization in recent years, advocating gun control and criticizing Mr. LaPierre's leadership (though some critics have argued that these pleas are not persuasive). (I thought there was no such thing).
Mr. LaPierre himself officially resigned at the end of January, though he still professed that his “passion for our cause burns deeper than ever.”
On Friday night, Chris Brown, president of Brady, another anti-gun group, said the monetary damages LaPierre faces are “a bucketload compared to what he owes the American people for the carnage he incited.” It's just a drop in the bucket,” he said.
Danny Hakim Contributed to the report.