New York state Attorney General notched her second major victory in two weeks Friday after a jury found several key executives of the National Rifle Association misspent millions of the NRA’s dollars.
Last week, James won a multi-million dollar verdict against former President Donald Trump and his businesses in a civil fraud trial.
On Friday, a jury found that former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre misspent more than $5 million of the organization’s funds.
In a verdict that said LaPierre, 74, had repaid about $1 million of what was misspent, he was ordered to repay the NRA $4,351,231, according to the New York Post.
James called the verdict a “major victory for the people of New York.”
“For years, Wayne LaPierre used charitable dollars to fund his lavish lifestyle, spending millions on luxury travel, expensive clothes, insider contracts, and other perks for himself and his family,” James said, according to The New York Times.
“Today, after years of rampant corruption and self-dealing, Wayne LaPierre and the N.R.A. are finally being held accountable,” James said.
John Frazer, the NRA’s secretary and general counsel, and Wilson Phillips, a former treasurer and chief financial officer were also found guilty, according to NBC.
Phillips was ordered to pay $2 million back to the NRA, while Frazer was not hit with a monetary penalty.
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Frazer is the only defendant still working for the NRA.
The NRA was ruled in violation of New York state law by not having a whistleblower policy in place.
State Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen will make a ruling on whether to adopt those penalties.
The judge can also impose other sanctions that could ban the three NRA executives from being on the board of any charity in New York, and could impose a fiscal monitor on the NRA’s financial activities.
James launched her suit trying to dissolve the NRA, but that effort was thrown out in 2022.
In a statement, the NRA said it had been the victim of misconduct by some leaders and has made changes to ensure it never happens again.
“A parade of NRA witnesses and independent experts established that the NRA was the victim of actions that were pursued in secrecy and not in the interests of the Association – by former vendors and fiduciaries,” NRA counsel William A. Brewer III said in the statement.
“In any event, the NYAG’s case focused on the past and the NRA lives in the present. It was the NRA that ultimately established the record being pursued by the NYAG. Our client looks forward to phase two of these proceedings — emboldened by its record of good governance,” Brewer said.
