The former chief of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Wayne LaPierre, has been ordered to pay $4.3 million over his alleged misuse of agency funds.
The jury handling the lawsuit that was brought by the New York Attorney General's Office found Friday that LaPierre mismanaged the agency's charitable funds. The incident included the diversion of millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts, and other questionable expenditures.
Jury Orders LaPierre to Pay NRA $4.3 Million
In the jury's verdict, it found that the former NRA chief is required to pay the gun rights group $4.3 million in damages for mismanagement and misspending charitable funds. It also found that LaPierre violated his fiduciary duties from 2014 to 2022 when he was at the helm of the NRA.
The panel noted that he was responsible for causing $5.4 million in damages to the gun rights group by violating his statutory duties. However, he was able to prove that he had already repaid a little over $1 million to the charity, as per CNN.
Furthermore, the jury found that the NRA improperly entered into some deals that benefited its insiders, including the agency's top executives and board members. It said that this was done without proper board approval or ratification.
The improper self-dealing allegedly included a post-employment consulting contract with the NRA's former CFO, Wilson Phillips as well as hair and makeup expenses for LaPierre's wife. The jury found that the gun rights group filed false and misleading statements in its annual reports.
On top of the mismanagement of funds, the jury also found that the NRA violated whistleblower protection laws by failing to have an appropriate whistleblower policy in place. The agency also failed to investigate whistleblower complaints or retaliate against eight whistleblowers who came forward with concerns.
Five Days of Deliberations
The jury's verdict came after five days of deliberation and as it was read, LaPierre simply stared forward with his hands clasped in his lap. He was sitting in the first row of the gallery during the reading of the verdict, according to ABC News.
The New York Attorney General's Office first filed the lawsuit against the NRA and its top executives in 2020. The accusations against the gun rights group and its senior management came at the end of a three-year investigation into the NRA, which is registered in New York as a non-profit charitable corporation.
The jurors in the case, who started their deliberations on Feb. 16, were asked to weigh transactions like hair and makeup for LaPierre's wife, payments or speaking fees to board members, and contracts with favored vendors who were willing to pay kickbacks.
The jury's verdict is the latest blow to the gun rights group, which has been beset by financial issues in the past few years as well as dwindling membership. The order for LaPierre to pay for damages comes after he announced his resignation as the NRA chief on the eve of the trial.
The penalties that the jury decided to have LaPierre and Phillips pay will go back to the gun rights group. The NRA has been portrayed as both a defendant that lacked internal controls and a victim of that same misconduct, said the Associated Press.
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