{"id":4923,"date":"2024-02-24T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-24T01:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=4923"},"modified":"2024-02-29T11:25:54","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T03:25:54","slug":"jury-finds-nra-and-wayne-lapierre-liable-in-civil-corruption-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=4923","title":{"rendered":"Jury finds NRA and Wayne LaPierre liable in civil corruption trial"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verdict comes after five days of deliberations and ends a seven-week long civil corruption trial in New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case against the NRA was brought on by a lawsuit filed in 2020 by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused LaPierre and other current and former executives of flouting state laws and internal policies to enrich themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other defendants were John Frazer, the NRA\u2019s corporate secretary and general counsel, and Wilson \u201cWoody\u201d Phillips, its former treasurer and chief financial officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jurors also determined that LaPierre, Phillips and Frazer all violated their statutory obligation to discharge the duties of their position in good faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If jurors found the individual defendants liable, they had to recommend the amount of money that each defendant would have to repay the NRA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phillips caused $2 million in monetary harm to the NRA, they found, while Frazer did not cause any monetary harm to the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frazer is the only individual defendant who still works for the NRA. The jury determined that Frazer made or authorized a false statement in the NRA\u2019s annual filings, but that there is no cause to remove him from his post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LaPierre served as the NRA\u2019s CEO and executive vice president for more than 30 years before he resigned at the end of January, citing health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of his resignation, the jury found there was also cause for LaPierre\u2019s removal from the NRA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LaPierre ignored reporters as he walked out of the courthouse Friday evening, surrounded by five police officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen will have the final say over remedies. As early as July, he could 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\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five out of six jurors needed to agree on each part of the verdict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, James called the verdict a “major victory for the people of New York and our efforts to stop the corruption and greed at the NRA.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“LaPierre and senior leaders at the NRA blatantly abused their positions and broke the law,” she said. “But today, after years of rampant corruption and self-dealing, Wayne LaPierre and the NRA are finally being held accountable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James’ attorneys spent six weeks in Manhattan court painting the NRA as \u201cWayne\u2019s World,\u201d which they said was full of free private jets, expensive meals, travel consultants, private security and trips to the Bahamas for LaPierre and his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During closing arguments, Monica Connell, an attorney with the state Attorney General\u2019s Office, compared the defendants to children caught stealing from a cookie jar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She urged the jury to hold the defendants accountable, even if their attorneys outlined steps they may have taken to address or correct violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSaying you\u2019re sorry now,\u201d she said, \u201cdoesn\u2019t mean you didn\u2019t take the cookies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NRA\u2019s attorney countered by distancing the group from LaPierre and fortifying its defense that former rogue employees had stolen from the NRA without the group\u2019s knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf this is a case about corruption, it wasn\u2019t corruption by the NRA,\u201d NRA attorney Sarah Rogers told jurors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his final remarks, LaPierre\u2019s attorney, P. Kent Correll, said James set out years ago to \u201cdecapitate\u201d the NRA and sued LaPierre as part of that goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the stand, LaPierre said he used the organization\u2019s financial resources on chartered private jets, family trips, black car services and high-end gifts for friends. He also testified that he authorized thousands of dollars in helicopter rides so that NRA executives could avoid getting stuck in traffic while traveling to and from NASCAR races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During cross-examination, LaPierre testified that it was wrong to charter private planes and limo services for personal use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of the defendants has been criminally charged as part of James\u2019 lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James had initially set out to dissolve the NRA as part of her suit. However, Cohen dismissed that effort in 2022, saying her complaint \u201cdoes not allege the type of public harm that is the legal linchpin for imposing the \u2018corporate death penalty.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NRA has operated as a nonprofit charitable corporation in New York since 1871. Its assets are required by law to be used in a way that serves the interests of its membership and advances its charitable mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last few years, the NRA has been considerably weaker, with less influence in the political sphere and fewer members. Membership fell to 4.2 million from nearly 6 million five years ago, The New York Times reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Membership dues dropped by $14 million from 2021 to 2022, according to an audit filed as part of the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 case against the NRA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[2096,2095,2094],"class_list":["post-4923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usa","tag-jury","tag-lapierre","tag-nra"],"yoast_head":"\nJury finds NRA and Wayne LaPierre liable in civil corruption trial - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=4923\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jury finds NRA and Wayne LaPierre liable in civil corruption trial - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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. 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