The case, which focused on the National Rifle Association's extravagant expenditures, held the group and its longstanding leader responsible on Friday. A jury in New York concluded that Wayne LaPierre, the former CEO of the NRA for thirty years, and other individuals embezzled millions of dollars from the organization for personal benefits.
According to the AP, LaPierre, 74, sat expressionless in the front row of the courtroom when the decision was announced. The ruling is a victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James and the most recent setback for the influential organization, which has been struggling financially and losing members recently.
On the eve of the trial, LaPierre announced his retirement, and the jury ordered him to pay $4,351,231 in reparations. Wilson Phillips, a former financial chief, and John Frazer, general attorney for the NRA, were also defendants in the lawsuit.
The NRA, which was represented in the lawsuit as a defendant with insufficient internal controls to avoid misspending and as a victim of the same misbehavior, would receive any fines paid by LaPierre or others. James also wants to ban the three men from holding executive roles in any nonprofits doing business in New York. During the following stage of the state Supreme Court trial, a judge will make a decision on that matter.
The trial brought attention to the influential lobbying group's finances, corporate culture, and leadership. State attorneys said throughout the trial that LaPierre used the NRA as his personal piggybank, taking money out of its coffers for dubious expenses like African safaris, all the while avoiding financial disclosure laws.
According to the AP, his attorney characterized James' trial as a political witch hunt. According to state attorneys, LaPierre overcharged the NRA by more than $11 million for private jet flights and overspent on eight visits to the Bahamas over a three-year period.
According to the AP, LaPierre, 74, sat expressionless in the front row of the courtroom when the decision was announced. The ruling is a victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James and the most recent setback for the influential organization, which has been struggling financially and losing members recently.
On the eve of the trial, LaPierre announced his retirement, and the jury ordered him to pay $4,351,231 in reparations. Wilson Phillips, a former financial chief, and John Frazer, general attorney for the NRA, were also defendants in the lawsuit.
The NRA, which was represented in the lawsuit as a defendant with insufficient internal controls to avoid misspending and as a victim of the same misbehavior, would receive any fines paid by LaPierre or others. James also wants to ban the three men from holding executive roles in any nonprofits doing business in New York. During the following stage of the state Supreme Court trial, a judge will make a decision on that matter.
The trial brought attention to the influential lobbying group's finances, corporate culture, and leadership. State attorneys said throughout the trial that LaPierre used the NRA as his personal piggybank, taking money out of its coffers for dubious expenses like African safaris, all the while avoiding financial disclosure laws.
According to the AP, his attorney characterized James' trial as a political witch hunt. According to state attorneys, LaPierre overcharged the NRA by more than $11 million for private jet flights and overspent on eight visits to the Bahamas over a three-year period.
