Former NRA chief Wayne LaPierre misspent gun rights group's money, owes more than $4M, jury finds
The longtime head of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, misspent millions of dollars of the organization’s money, using the funds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle that included exotic getaways and trips on private planes and superyachts, a New York jury determined Friday, ordering him to repay almost $4.4 million
NEW YORK (AP) — The longtime head of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, misspent millions of dollars of the organization’s money, using the funds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle that included exotic getaways and trips on private planes and superyachts, a New York jury determined Friday.
The jury found LaPierre, 74, must repay almost $4.4 million to the powerful gun rights group that he led for three decades, while the NRA's retired finance chief, Wilson Phillips, owes $2 million. Jurors also found that the NRA failed to properly manage its assets, omitted or misrepresented information in its tax filings and violated whistleblower protections under New York law.
LaPierre, who announced his resignation from the NRA on the eve of the trial, sat stone-faced in the front row of the courtroom as the verdict was read aloud, and did not speak to reporters on the way out.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who campaigned on investigating the NRA’s not-for-profit status, declared the verdict a “major victory.”
