A jury found the NRA and former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre liable in a civil fraud lawsuit brought by corrupt New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Jurors said LaPierre “caused $5.4 million in monetary harm to the NRA, but that he has already repaid at least $1 million of that. The 74-year-old appeared stoic as the verdict was read.” NBC News reported.
The jury said LaPierre’s co-defendant Wilson Phillips “caused $2 million in monetary harm to the NRA, they found, while Frazer did not cause any monetary harm to the group.” the outlet said.
Last month Wayne LaPierre announced he would be resigning as the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) leader just days before his civil trial began.
Recall that Letitia James vowed to go after the NRA which she dubbed a ‘terrorist organization’ before she became the top cop of New York state.
In August 2020 Letitia James said her office is seeking an order to dissolve the NRA in its entirety during a press conference.
The investigation into the NRA began in 2019.
Letitia James said the NRA was serving as a personal piggy bank for Wayne LaPierre, the Chief Executive of the NRA.
Later that month the National Rifle Association announced a lawsuit against New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
“The NRA continues its defense of a lawsuit by the New York Attorney General, and LaPierre is an individual defendant in that action. It is well-known that the NYAG vowed to pursue the NRA when she was candidate for her office and, upon being elected, filed a lawsuit to dissolve the Association in August 2020. Trial proceedings in that case begin Monday,” the NRA said in a press release.
Excerpt from NBC News:
Wayne LaPierre diverted millions of dollars away from the National Rifle Association to live luxuriously, while the gun rights group failed to properly manage its finances, a jury found Friday.
The verdict comes after five days of deliberations and ends a seven-week long civil corruption trial in New York City.
The other defendants were John Frazer, the NRA’s corporate secretary and general counsel, and Wilson “Woody” Phillips, its former treasurer and chief financial officer.
The jury ruled largely in favor of James, finding that the National Rifle Association failed to properly run its nonprofit and its assets at any time between March 20, 2014 and May 2, 2022.
Jurors also determined that LaPierre, Phillips and Frazer all violated their statutory obligation to discharge the duties of their position in good faith.
Jurors also found that the NRA violated the law by failing to adopt a whistleblower policy and that eight employees suffered because of the violation.
State Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen will have the final say over monetary damages and remedies. That decision could happen in July.
Cohen could also decide whether any of the individual defendants should be permanently barred from serving on the board of any charity in New York and whether an independent monitor should oversee the NRA’s finances.
