A New York jury found that Wayne LaPierre misspent millions of dollars from the group's charitable funds
The National Rifle The Union and its former CEO, Wayne LaPierre, were found responsible for misusing millions of dollars in luxury perks.
A New York jury on Friday found that LaPierre, who ran the NRA for three decades, used charitable funds to pay for exotic vacations, private jet trips and superyachts and ordered him to repay $5.4 million. minus what he had already refunded the team, which they estimated at just over $1 million. Jurors also found that the gun rights group omitted or omitted information in its tax filings and violated state law by failing to adopt a whistleblower policy, according to the Associated Press.
In addition to the NRA and LaPierre, two other executives were found liable for violating state charity law.
New York Attorney General Letitia filed a lawsuit against the NRA in 2020, alleging that LaPierre and other leaders of the organization had engaged in “illegal conduct by diverting millions of dollars from the organization's charitable mission for personal use by senior executives.” The suit sought the complete dissolution of the NRA, as well as restitution payments for violations of New York tax laws.
Last month, LaPierre announced he was resigning from the NRA just days before the organization was scheduled to go on trial on citizen corruption charges in New York.
James called the verdict a “huge victory,” writing on X/Twitter that “Wayne LaPierre grossly abused his position and broke the law. But today, LaPierre and the NRA are finally being held accountable for this rampant corruption and self-serving.”
He continued, “In New York, you can't escape corruption and greed, no matter how powerful or influential you think you can be. Everyone, even the NRA and Wayne LaPierre, must play by the same rules.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nra-chief-wayne-lapierre-verdict-1234975012/
