State of NY pursuing criminal fraud charges against LaPierre
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OP
This kind of blatant fraud embezzlement and nonsense is long overdue for criminal prosecution
Long_Hunter
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Not just going after Lapierre, she wants to dismantle the entire organization...
NY attorney general seeks to dissolve NRA
New York’s attorney general sued the National Rifle Association on Thursday, seeking to put the powerful gun advocacy organization out of business over allegations that high-ranking executives diverted millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts for associates and other questionable expenditures.
Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, filed in state court in Manhattan after an 18-month investigation, highlighted misspending and self-dealing allegations that have roiled the NRA and its longtime leader, Wayne LaPierre, in recent years — from hair and makeup for his wife to a $17 million post-employment contract for himself.
The troubles, which James said were long cloaked by loyal lieutenants and a pass-through payment arrangement with a vendor, started to come to light as the NRA’s deficit piled up and it struggled to find its footing after a spate of mass shootings eroded support for its pro-gun agenda. The organization went from a nearly $28 million surplus in 2015 to a $36 million deficit in 2018.
James, a Democrat, argued that the organization’s prominence and cozy political relationships had lulled it into a sense of invincibility and enabled a culture where non-profit rules were routinely flouted and state and federal laws were violated. Even the NRA’s own bylaws and employee handbook were ignored, she said.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”
A message seeking comment from the NRA about the lawsuit was left Thursday.
James is taking aim at the NRA after her office last year dismantled President Donald Trump’s charitable foundation and fined him $2 million to settle allegations he used donations meant for worthy causes to further his own business and political interests. Though it is headquarters in Virginia, the NRA was chartered as a non-profit in New York in 1871 and continues to be incorporated in the state.
James also named LaPierre and three other current and former executives as defendants: corporate secretary and general counsel John Frazer, retired treasurer and chief financial officer Wilson Phillips, and LaPierre’s former chief of staff Joshua Powell. While the lawsuit accuses all four men of wrongdoing and seeks fines and remuneration, none of them have been charged with a crime.
LaPierre, who has been in charge of the NRA’s day-to-day operations since 1991, is accused of spending millions of dollars on private travel and personal security, accepting expensive gifts such as African safaris and use of a 107-foot yacht from vendors and setting himself up with a $17 million contract with the NRA, if he were to exit the organization, without board approval.
The lawsuit said LaPierre, 70, spent millions of the NRA's dollars on travel consultants, including luxury black car services, and hundreds of thousands of dollars on private jet flights for himself and his family, including more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span.
Some of the NRA's excess spending was kept secret, the lawsuit said, under an arrangement with the organization's former advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen.
The advertising firm would pick up the tab for various expenses for LaPierre and other NRA executives and then send a lump sum bill to the organization for “out-of-pocket expenses,” the lawsuit said.
Frazer, the corporate secretary and general counsel, is accused of aiding the alleged misconduct by certifying false or misleading annual regulatory filings, failing to comply with governance procedures, failing to enforce a conflict of interest policy, and failing to ensure that board members were reviewing transactions or that the the organization was following the law.
Phillips is accused of overseeing the pass-through arrangement. The lawsuit said he ignored or downplayed whistleblower complaints and made a deal to enrich himself in retirement -- a bogus $1.8 million contract to consult for the incoming treasurer and a deal worth $1 million for his girlfriend.
Powell, the former LaPierre chief of staff, is accused of getting his father a $90,000 photography gig through an NRA vendor, arranging a $5 million contract for a consulting firm where his wife worked and pocketing $100,000 more in housing and relocation reimbursements than the organization’s rules allowed. He was fired after 3½ years for allegedly misappropriating NRA funds.
The lawsuit comes at a time when the NRA is trying to remain relevant and a force in the 2020 presidential election as it seeks to help President Donald Trump secure a second term.
There has been an ongoing factional war within organization, pitting some of its most ardent gun-rights supporters and loyalists against one another. The NRA has traded lawsuits with Ackerman McQueen, which crafted some of its most prominent messages for decades, eventually severing ties with it last year and scrapping its controversial NRA-TV, which aired many of its most controversial messages.
The internal battles reached a fevered pitch at its 2019 annual meeting where its then-president, Oliver North, was denied a traditional second term amid a tussle with LaPierre as he sought to independently review the NRA’s expenses and operations. He accused LaPierre of exerting “dictatorial” control.
Chris Cox, the NRA's longtime lobbyist and widely viewed as a likely successor to LaPierre, left after being accused of working behind the scenes with North to undermine LaPierre.
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Pane reported from Boise, Idaho. Tom Hays also contributed from New York.
https://www.wral.com/ny-attorney-general-seeks-to-dissolve-nra/19222785/
NY attorney general seeks to dissolve NRA
New York’s attorney general sued the National Rifle Association on Thursday, seeking to put the powerful gun advocacy organization out of business over allegations that high-ranking executives diverted millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts for associates and other questionable expenditures.
Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, filed in state court in Manhattan after an 18-month investigation, highlighted misspending and self-dealing allegations that have roiled the NRA and its longtime leader, Wayne LaPierre, in recent years — from hair and makeup for his wife to a $17 million post-employment contract for himself.
The troubles, which James said were long cloaked by loyal lieutenants and a pass-through payment arrangement with a vendor, started to come to light as the NRA’s deficit piled up and it struggled to find its footing after a spate of mass shootings eroded support for its pro-gun agenda. The organization went from a nearly $28 million surplus in 2015 to a $36 million deficit in 2018.
James, a Democrat, argued that the organization’s prominence and cozy political relationships had lulled it into a sense of invincibility and enabled a culture where non-profit rules were routinely flouted and state and federal laws were violated. Even the NRA’s own bylaws and employee handbook were ignored, she said.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”
A message seeking comment from the NRA about the lawsuit was left Thursday.
James is taking aim at the NRA after her office last year dismantled President Donald Trump’s charitable foundation and fined him $2 million to settle allegations he used donations meant for worthy causes to further his own business and political interests. Though it is headquarters in Virginia, the NRA was chartered as a non-profit in New York in 1871 and continues to be incorporated in the state.
James also named LaPierre and three other current and former executives as defendants: corporate secretary and general counsel John Frazer, retired treasurer and chief financial officer Wilson Phillips, and LaPierre’s former chief of staff Joshua Powell. While the lawsuit accuses all four men of wrongdoing and seeks fines and remuneration, none of them have been charged with a crime.
LaPierre, who has been in charge of the NRA’s day-to-day operations since 1991, is accused of spending millions of dollars on private travel and personal security, accepting expensive gifts such as African safaris and use of a 107-foot yacht from vendors and setting himself up with a $17 million contract with the NRA, if he were to exit the organization, without board approval.
The lawsuit said LaPierre, 70, spent millions of the NRA's dollars on travel consultants, including luxury black car services, and hundreds of thousands of dollars on private jet flights for himself and his family, including more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span.
Some of the NRA's excess spending was kept secret, the lawsuit said, under an arrangement with the organization's former advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen.
The advertising firm would pick up the tab for various expenses for LaPierre and other NRA executives and then send a lump sum bill to the organization for “out-of-pocket expenses,” the lawsuit said.
Frazer, the corporate secretary and general counsel, is accused of aiding the alleged misconduct by certifying false or misleading annual regulatory filings, failing to comply with governance procedures, failing to enforce a conflict of interest policy, and failing to ensure that board members were reviewing transactions or that the the organization was following the law.
Phillips is accused of overseeing the pass-through arrangement. The lawsuit said he ignored or downplayed whistleblower complaints and made a deal to enrich himself in retirement -- a bogus $1.8 million contract to consult for the incoming treasurer and a deal worth $1 million for his girlfriend.
Powell, the former LaPierre chief of staff, is accused of getting his father a $90,000 photography gig through an NRA vendor, arranging a $5 million contract for a consulting firm where his wife worked and pocketing $100,000 more in housing and relocation reimbursements than the organization’s rules allowed. He was fired after 3½ years for allegedly misappropriating NRA funds.
The lawsuit comes at a time when the NRA is trying to remain relevant and a force in the 2020 presidential election as it seeks to help President Donald Trump secure a second term.
There has been an ongoing factional war within organization, pitting some of its most ardent gun-rights supporters and loyalists against one another. The NRA has traded lawsuits with Ackerman McQueen, which crafted some of its most prominent messages for decades, eventually severing ties with it last year and scrapping its controversial NRA-TV, which aired many of its most controversial messages.
The internal battles reached a fevered pitch at its 2019 annual meeting where its then-president, Oliver North, was denied a traditional second term amid a tussle with LaPierre as he sought to independently review the NRA’s expenses and operations. He accused LaPierre of exerting “dictatorial” control.
Chris Cox, the NRA's longtime lobbyist and widely viewed as a likely successor to LaPierre, left after being accused of working behind the scenes with North to undermine LaPierre.
__
Pane reported from Boise, Idaho. Tom Hays also contributed from New York.
https://www.wral.com/ny-attorney-general-seeks-to-dissolve-nra/19222785/
Meckmeister
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Biden said last year, if he's the last man standing, he would go after the NRA and gun manufacturers.
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Be careful what you wish for. It's one thing to internally keep house and it's another for an outside entity (enemy) to come clean it without regard for it's integrity.
OP
If they had any integrity, I would agree with you.
OP
Look, I am no naif when it comes to the agenda of SONY politicos. They hate gun owners, and the NRA and want to destroy both. Don't think I don't get that. What I am saying is that the gun community has LONG known of this kind of flapdoodle nonsense, and not only did nothing about it, but RE-ELECTED this Nigerian scam artist to line his pockets with even MORE boodle. It is the same type of disgusting nonsense u used to hear about the Republicans "we have to elect Calvin Corrupt, here, because.... THE DEMOCRATS!" I am done with that kind of crap. We either clean our own house or our enemies will clean it for us.
This is long long overdue.
This is long long overdue.
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ronn47
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But, but, my magazine!
Lock Wayne up and a few others, go back to what the members pay and expect the NRA to do, fight BS gun laws and promote the shooting sports.
Lock Wayne up and a few others, go back to what the members pay and expect the NRA to do, fight BS gun laws and promote the shooting sports.
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The NRA is complaining that it's so predictable that they'll do this for an election year...
if it was so gorram redictable, why the frak did you keep operating out of NY when errybody knew this was coming years ago?
if it was so gorram redictable, why the frak did you keep operating out of NY when errybody knew this was coming years ago?
Sad but predictable. If you know that someone is gunning for you you don't put a target on your back and draw attention to yourself.
Of course with the NRA gone (if that is the outcome) you have to wonder which organization will fill that void, if any.
Of course with the NRA gone (if that is the outcome) you have to wonder which organization will fill that void, if any.
Or, sometimes, outside action - even "violent" action - is required to overcome inertia and ennui (consider how rebuilding projects can sometimes only come about after natural disasters - not to suggest effect justifies cause).
Let the morons of NY pay to clean up the graft. And, maybe, if there is the will and drive to do it, a more focused and stronger organization will arise in its place. And, if the will and drive are lacking, then the cause is lost in any event.
Btw, I am just typing generically: I have no inside or detailed knowledge of LaPierre's malfeasance and I certainly believe that the NY AG's office is pathological (e.g. pushing climate alarmism litigation: http://climatecasechart.com/case/people-v-exxon-mobil-corporation/?cn-reloaded=1).
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This is real trouble for the gun world. The last thing we need is the dissolution of the only national organization that can/could have fought the anti-gunners. Hopefully some Congressman will bring this matter to the House and stop this travesty.
For us, GOA did a few years ago.
OP
no one is going to "dissolve" the NRA..... or if they do, it won't be this way. I dumped my membership some time ago. Depending on the NRA to defend RTKBA is like depending on Thom Tillis to enforce responsible gov spending.
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Go after those who committed fraud. But using this as means to explicitly try to dismantle the organization is ridiculous. Simply being so brazen as to ask for the NRA to be dismantled should be means for dismissal of her case.
Let the org deal with the PR nightmare and rebuild, while those who did wrong pay the price.
Let the org deal with the PR nightmare and rebuild, while those who did wrong pay the price.
I'm having trouble remembering the last big win that the NRA accomplished.
Not saying they never helped, but it's been a while since they did anything meaningful.
Groups like GOA and GRNC have done more heavy lifting than NRA, lately.
If they can get rid of Wayne, maybe they could become useful again.
Not saying they never helped, but it's been a while since they did anything meaningful.
Groups like GOA and GRNC have done more heavy lifting than NRA, lately.
If they can get rid of Wayne, maybe they could become useful again.
Meckmeister
Member
Anything coming out of the Umpire State is more like whining lately. Today the SCNY, yesterday Gov Cuomo begging for a federal bailout after many millionaires have left his tax base. Why is deBlasio so quiet?
This is completely Wayne LaPierre's fault. If they are found guilty of systematic embezzlement the state can strip them of their non-profit designation which basically dismantles the organization. It makes sense if the allegations are true. It is not a reach. It is exactly what she did to the corrupt Trump Charity Foundation.
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The NY attorney general could care less about the internal goings-on in the NRA. This action is to dissolve the NRA and intimidate all other national gun rights organizations. Otherwise the state would be going after the individuals alleged to be responsible and not attempting to designate the organization as a criminal operation. Even if the organization attack ultimately fails, the NRA will be completely destroyed financially and most likely cease to exist. The NRA does a lot of good in promoting firearms safe use and encouraging the shooting sports. Without new and young blood coming into the shooting sports, gun ownership in the U.S. may be gone in a generation, two at the most.
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lol you think record sales and young shooters are because of the NRA? Dude give your community more respect.
Shooting sports and gun sales are up across the board. Liberal, conservative, whatever demographic you want. We don't need the NRA to recruit young shooters. That's what parents, friends, family, coworkers, etc are doing. The NRA hasn't promoted anything except their own donation envelope in a long time.
What is kind of lost in all of this is the fact that originally the NRAs main goal was to improve marksmanship and sport shooting. That was its primary focus until 1970 IIRC. Then the NRA became the politic machine it is today. That fundamental change over time IMHO has poisoned the well. The only way to give the NRA back some credibility is to clean house. There is entirely too much self dealing done by Wayne and the other board members which only benefits each others pockets.
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Didn't San Fran Cisco declare the NRA a terrorist organization this year ?? That seems like a "local" way to go after them. This could be bad JuJu.
You're exactly right. They used to be a fantastic and non-political organization. But as with most things, they became corrupted (even pushed for gun control!) and from there it was all down hill. They're not a non profit anymore, they're an embezzling scheme.
Pournelle's Iron Law. It's almost inescapable.
Regardless of the of the outcome. I have a difficult time seeing any positive news in this for gun owners.
NRA hasn't done a damn thing for gun owners in its current form. It will be business as usual for us. That's why its important to support local and actual pro 2A gun rights groups
Yes along with all members are now classified as Terrorists.
Just like Rev Al Sharpton NAN.
Don't disagree about the NRA's recent usefulness for gun owners. I just don't see an upside in "business as usual", its neither an up or a down.
I'm just saying if the NRA were to disappear it would not affect gun owners one way or another (except for maybe give some more $ in the pockets of the suckers that kept writing them checks)
NRA fights where they have a chance to win, unlike in NY, NJ and CA where they have almost no chance .
Recent NRA backed victories https://www.thetrace.org/2019/06/nra-statewide-victories-amid-national-controversy/
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/...ights-from-nra-ila-s-history-of-achievements/
I'm a NRA life member and yearly member for GOA and GRNC.
Recent NRA backed victories https://www.thetrace.org/2019/06/nra-statewide-victories-amid-national-controversy/
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/...ights-from-nra-ila-s-history-of-achievements/
I'm a NRA life member and yearly member for GOA and GRNC.
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I respect that you are a lifetime member and supporter but that first link is taking a lot of credit for passing bills they had very little to do with. For example constitutional carry in KY was not pasted because of anything that the NRA did.
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Horse dung. Fold the damn whole organization and Gun Owners of America will fight the battle like they are now.
Exactly. I need to renew my membership that expired during April covid19 BS.
Bravo
Jail time when you sign off on fraud.
Another man who understands how non profits shield themselves while they launder money.
Wayne and the board have squandered most of the members money on themselves and friends. As much as most people hate anything New York I will rejoice when the organization is replaced. These old farts who require you to join a corrupt organization to be a member of their range should be ashamed for enabling this behavior. I'd like to take a dump in every NRA hat I see.
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What a lot of people are not looking at is the numbers of members and the power we hold as a collective. No other gun rights organization comes close and when used effectively the NRA was and can still be the voice of not just gun owners but mainstream Americans. We, the people, let this power slip through our fingers and tomorrow is an assured defeat of our freedoms as we current know it. In reality guns are not the reason we joined the NRA, rather they are a symbol of our determination to serve liberty so now is the time to fight for the NRA’s existence, numbers do matter.
As for the current leadership, remove them all, reorganize the charter to give the vote back to all members and start anew with local to state to a national convention and put the NRA back as a power to be reckoned with and respected by all.
As for the current leadership, remove them all, reorganize the charter to give the vote back to all members and start anew with local to state to a national convention and put the NRA back as a power to be reckoned with and respected by all.
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A bunch of us old farts were around before the current fiasco and saw the NRA aid in building those clubs that you now enjoy so go ahead and piss on those that made your playground and see how that works for you.
Good luck with that dream. They knew the members were not happy and said F...um. But old farts just kept propping them up. It's not a slight on older people the way I say it. Its the less educated elderly who do not stay informed and even the informed that will not change. If you became a life member long ago you did in an era when they were a true non profit doing good deeds for the shooting community. Nothing wrong with that at all. Ive been a member off and on but not for a decade.
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Life member since the early 70’s, almost revoked my membership during the reign of G W Bush but said the hell with it and stayed for the magazine otherwise no support waiting for the day the crooks were caught. I get your beef but once the NRA tanks the days as we know it are gone, jmho.
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