NRA Class Action Filed By Longtime Donor

A longtime donor to the National Rifle Association (NRA) has filed a class action lawsuit against the organization claiming that they mislead him in how they were spending his contributions.

Plaintiff David Dell’Aquila claims that the NRA, in their solicitations for money, said that they would be using donations towards gun safety education, in the promotion of shooting sports and hunter safety, as well as protecting the rights of gun owners in the United States.

The NRA class action lawsuit alleges that the NRA has been using the donations toward causes that are contrary to the organization’s core mission.

The plaintiff alleges that he found out about the misconduct from an investigation by Lt. Col. Oliver North, the NRA’s former president.

First, the plaintiff claims that North found out that the NRA was paying its outside law firm about $2 million per month and when North requested to see the invoices, he was denied this information.

Second, North allegedly read in a New Yorker article that the NRA has been mismanaging funds. Last, North found out that the NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, has been receiving “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in personal benefits from an NRA vendor, which was not part of his compensation as filed to the IRS.

“Each time that North raised concerns about potential financial misconduct and tried to retain professionals to correct any wrongdoing, North’s efforts were thwarted by Defendant LaPierre and the NRA’s outside counsel, Brewer,” the NRA class action lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiff says that in June 2019, LaPierre ceased work with the NRA’s public relations agency, Ackerman McQueen.  The agency considered this a breach of contract by disclosing the financial wrongdoings mentioned in this lawsuit.

Also, according to the Washington Times, “The lawsuit is the latest headache for the gun-rights organization, which has been rocked this year by the departure of top staffers including President Oliver North and former top strategist Chris Cox, and parted ways with its longtime advertising agency after a public dispute over finances.”

The NRA class action lawsuit further claims that the NRA spent $274,695 on clothing purchases for LaPierre from a Beverly Hills clothing store and didn’t report this expense to the IRS. In addition, the lawsuit claims that the NRA also spent $243,644 on travel expenses for LaPierre to such destinations as Palm Beach, Reno, and Italy without reporting it as income to the IRS.

The plaintiff also alleges that the NRA transferred around $80 million from the NRA Foundation to the NRA over a period of 10 years. In addition, Dell’Aquila also claims that the NRA Foundation paid $425,000 per year to the Speedway Children’s Charity, which is a non-profit organization and “not related to the NRA’s core mission.”

There are two putative Classes in this class action litigation, according to the plaintiff. The first is “all persons residing in the United States who have donated funds to the NRA from January 1, 2015 to the present.” The second is “all persons residing in the United States who have donated funds to the NRA Foundation from January 1, 2015 to the present.”

The plaintiff is representing himself in this class action lawsuit.

The NRA Class Action Lawsuit is Dell’Aquila v. LaPierre, et al. Case No. 3:19-cv-00679, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

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