NRA Lawsuit Filed By New York AG, Alleging Fraud

In recent NRA news, an NRA lawsuit was filed in New York by the state attorney general aiming to dissolve the gun rights group.

According to New York Attorney General Letitia James, the National Rifle Association has engaged in decades of fraud and self dealing. CEO Wayne LaPierre and three other deputies have allegedly used the “non-profit” to fund their luxurious lifestyles. James says that these leaders have funneled $64 million from the NRA in the span of only three years.

“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 regarding the NRA lawsuit in New York.

“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.”

The NRA lawsuit in New York details widespread fraud throughout the non-profit organization, including new information allegedly uncovered in James’ investigation into the gun rights group.

LaPierre and other leadership have reportedly used NRA funds to pay for their own personal expenditures – allowing them to live a life of luxury.

For example, LaPierre has allegedly charged the NRA for expensive vacations, including more than $500,000 in private airfare to visit the Bahamas with his family eight times in the span of only three years. Similarly, the NRA has reportedly reimbursed LaPierre for $1.2 million in trips, golf fees, gifts, and other expenses over a course of four years.

In recent NRA news, LaPierre allegedly crafted a post-employment contract which would pay him $17 million. However, the CEO reportedly failed to get approval from the NRA’s board.

James also claims that LaPierre committed tax fraud by failing to report income to the IRS. Allegedly, LaPierre used an outside public relations firm to cover personal expenses which allowed him to sidestep responsibility for hundreds of thousands of dollars in income.

According to James’ NRA lawsuit in New York, these practices “did not comply with IRS requirements, and, as a result, all such expenses should have been included by the NRA in taxable personal income for LaPierre.” LaPierre himself has allegedly acknowledged this issue during a deposition in a separate lawsuit last year.

Overall, James claims that LaPierre has severely taken advantage of NRA finances – causing widespread issues in the organization.

“Contrary to his statutory duties of care, loyalty and obedience to the mission of the charity, LaPierre has undertaken a series of actions to consolidate his position; to exploit that position for his personal benefit and that of his family; […] and to intimidate, punish, and expel anyone at a senior level who raised concerns about his conduct,” the NRA lawsuit from New York alleges.

“The effect has been to divert millions of dollars away from the charitable mission, imposing substantial reductions in its expenditures for core program services, including gun safety, education, training, member services and public affairs.”

In addition to calling for the abolishment of the NRA and the resignation of LaPierre and other leadership, James calls for the defendants to return their ill-gotten funds to the NRA.

NRA president Carolyn Meadows has clapped back against James’ allegations, accusing the state attorney general of launching a “baseless, premeditated attack on [the] organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend.” Meadows says that the NRA lawsuit in New York was clearly motivated by James’ Democratic political views ahead of the 2020 election.

“This has been a power grab by a political opportunist – a desperate move that is part of a rank political vendetta,” the NRA said in a statement on Twitter responding to the NRA lawsuit New York. “Our members won’t be intimidated or bullied in their defense of political and constitutional freedom.”

What are your thoughts on this NRA news? Do you think that the NRA lawsuit in New York is baseless as the NRA claims or well founded as James argues? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

The NRA lawsuit was filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, New York Charities Bureau Chief James Sheehan, New York First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy, New York Chief Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice Meghan Faux, and Co-Chief of the New York Charities Bureau Enforcement Section Emily Stern.

The NRA Lawsuit New York is People of the State of the New York v. The National Rifle Association of America Inc., et al., Case No. unknown, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of New York.

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