New York sues to have NRA dissolved due to ‘fraud and abuse’
Loading player...
New York — New York is seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA) as the state attorney-general accuses the gun rights group and four senior officials of engaging in a huge fraud against donors.
A sprawling lawsuit filed on Thursday in state court in Manhattan alleges the NRA diverted charitable donations for years to enrich the organisation’s top executives in violation of laws governing non-profits, New York attorney-general Letitia James said in a statement. The state is also demanding millions of dollars in restitution and penalties.
The case may pose one of the biggest legal threats the NRA has faced since its founding in New York in 1871. The turmoil began with a power struggle last year between former NRA president Oliver North and longtime leader Wayne LaPierre, which led to allegations of self dealing.
A subsequent state probe found wrongdoing blamed for more than $64m in losses in the past three years alone, James said.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organisation went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James, a Democrat, said in the statement. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse.”
This isn’t the first high-profile charity James has targeted. US President Donald Trump paid $2m in damages last year after his charitable foundation reached a settlement with the attorney-general, who accused the president and his children of rampantly violating non-profit rules.
Their alleged infractions included using foundation money to buy sports memorabilia, Champagne and a portrait of Trump. The president shuttered the charity and denied wrongdoing.
In the NRA case, the state investigation uncovered an array of wrongdoing, including the awarding of lucrative deals to family members and close associates and the awarding of “no show” contracts to former employees to “buy their silence and continued loyalty”, according to the statement.
North, who was interviewed by state investigators, had accused LaPierre of using the NRA to enrich himself. LaPierre denied the accusation, and North was ousted as the organisation’s president.
‘The waste and loss of millions’
The NRA has previously claimed that North plotted with its former ad agency, Ackerman McQueen, to smear LaPierre by leaking details of his spending. North and Ackerman denied the claims. The NRA has also accused James of trying to circumvent the organisation’s legal rights by demanding information about its members as part of a “political witch-hunt”.
North’s claims weren’t ...
A sprawling lawsuit filed on Thursday in state court in Manhattan alleges the NRA diverted charitable donations for years to enrich the organisation’s top executives in violation of laws governing non-profits, New York attorney-general Letitia James said in a statement. The state is also demanding millions of dollars in restitution and penalties.
The case may pose one of the biggest legal threats the NRA has faced since its founding in New York in 1871. The turmoil began with a power struggle last year between former NRA president Oliver North and longtime leader Wayne LaPierre, which led to allegations of self dealing.
A subsequent state probe found wrongdoing blamed for more than $64m in losses in the past three years alone, James said.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organisation went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James, a Democrat, said in the statement. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse.”
This isn’t the first high-profile charity James has targeted. US President Donald Trump paid $2m in damages last year after his charitable foundation reached a settlement with the attorney-general, who accused the president and his children of rampantly violating non-profit rules.
Their alleged infractions included using foundation money to buy sports memorabilia, Champagne and a portrait of Trump. The president shuttered the charity and denied wrongdoing.
In the NRA case, the state investigation uncovered an array of wrongdoing, including the awarding of lucrative deals to family members and close associates and the awarding of “no show” contracts to former employees to “buy their silence and continued loyalty”, according to the statement.
North, who was interviewed by state investigators, had accused LaPierre of using the NRA to enrich himself. LaPierre denied the accusation, and North was ousted as the organisation’s president.
‘The waste and loss of millions’
The NRA has previously claimed that North plotted with its former ad agency, Ackerman McQueen, to smear LaPierre by leaking details of his spending. North and Ackerman denied the claims. The NRA has also accused James of trying to circumvent the organisation’s legal rights by demanding information about its members as part of a “political witch-hunt”.
North’s claims weren’t ...