Frank Franklin II/AP
A Manhattan jury found three top executives of the National Rifle Association liable Friday in a lengthy civil trial that focused on allegations of corruption and embezzlement of millions of dollars.
Longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre, a key architect of the nonprofit's hardline gun rights agenda, stepped down as CEO last month and was at the center of a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
After a six-week trial and a week of deliberations, the jury found that LaPierre “violated his legal duty to perform his duties in good faith.”
They concluded that although LaPierre had already repaid about $1 million, he had caused roughly $5.4 million worth of damage to the nonprofit's finances.
LaPierre sat in the courtroom watching the jury's verdict and later declined to comment as he left the courthouse. His legal team said they plan to appeal.
The lawsuit also names NRA general counsel and secretary John Frazer and former chief financial officer Wilson “Woody” Phillips.
Jurors found Phillips liable for $2 million in damages. They concluded that Fraser had acted inappropriately, but ruled that they found no measurable financial damages.
“For years, Wayne LaPierre has used his philanthropic money to fund his lavish lifestyle, spending millions on lavish trips, expensive clothes, insider deals and other perks for himself and his family,” James said in a statement. “I spent a lot of money,” he said. “But today, after years of rampant corruption and self-dealing, Wayne LaPierre and the NRA are finally being held accountable.”
‘Put your hand in the cookie jar’
The executives were accused of misappropriating and mismanaging funds donated to members of gun rights groups. According to James, their actions resulted in “more than $64 million in losses in just three years.”
During the six-week trial, state attorneys alleged that LaPierre spent more than $11 million on private flights and approved $135 million in NRA contracts in exchange for yacht passes and free trips to the Bahamas, Greece and other vacation destinations, the Associated Press reported. reported.
Both LaPierre and the NRA have denied the allegations.
LaPierre called the case a political witch hunt by the Democratic New York attorney general. The NRA's legal team said the organization was the victim of a corruption case.
In a ruling last year, New York State Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen rejected those claims and allowed the case to proceed.
“[T]“The NRA’s factual allegations do not support a viable legal claim that the Attorney General’s investigation was unconstitutionally retaliatory or selective,” Cohen wrote.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the state argued that the NRA and other executives had committed LaPierre's misconduct and given him the ability to resign without consequence.
The NRA, LaPierre and two other defendants, former CFO Wilson Phillips and general counsel John Frazier, were arrested “with their hands in the cookie jar,” New York State Solicitor General Monica Connell said during closing arguments in the trial Thursday.
“They’ll try to get you to think about everything except what happened to the cookies,” she said. “They will blame anyone but themselves.”
This ruling is another blow to gun rights groups, whose political influence has recently been declining.
“We’re two months left in 2024, and the NRA has already lost this trial, its longtime leader, and all of its remaining political relevance,” said Nick Suplina, senior vice president of legal and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. verdict. “This ruling confirms what we have seen in recent elections, state legislatures and Congress: The gun lobby has never been weaker and the gun safety movement has never been stronger.”
James asked the court to force the individual defendants to pay restitution to the NRA and bar them from working in leadership positions at any non-profit organization in New York.
She also asked the court to appoint an independent compliance monitor to monitor the NRA's assets.
James has a history of bringing high-profile cases against powerful targets. She oversaw the sexual harassment investigation that led to the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo and secured more than $2 billion in settlements from companies in the opioid industry. Her lawsuit against former President Donald Trump could cost her $355 million in a civil fraud case, but he has promised to appeal.
The decline of the NRA's political power
LaPierre spent three decades growing the NRA's political and lobbying influence. Even as mass shootings have become common, LaPierre has rejected attempts to change gun policy, branding gun control supporters as enemies of freedom and using the threat of gun control to raise money.
His resignation was announced just days before the trial was scheduled to begin, with the NRA instead citing health as the reason for his departure.
The NRA's grip on politics has weakened in recent years due to declining membership and revenues and concerns within the group about the direction of its leadership and misuse of funds.
After James' office began investigating the NRA's financial misconduct, the attorney general filed a corruption lawsuit against the organization in 2020.
The NRA attempted to declare bankruptcy in 2021, but a judge denied the group's petition, ruling that the filing was not made in good faith.
The NRA scored a legal victory in 2022 when a judge rejected James' motion to dissolve the organization, but lawsuits against the organization were allowed to proceed.
NPR's Joel Rose contributed reporting on this story.