(NEW YORK) — A judge in New York on Monday banned former National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre from serving in a role at the NRA or affiliate organizations for 10 years after he was held liable for financial mismanagement of the nation’s most well-known gun lobby.
The judge gave the NRA itself and the New York Attorney General’s office one week to discuss potential reforms.
“The NRA and its senior leaders broke the law, and funneled millions of dollars in cash and lavish perks to themselves, their families, and NRA insiders,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “The damages portion of the case we presented, as well as the earlier trial before the jury, demonstrated that the NRA had a stunning lack of accountability and it’s leaders engaged in illegality and self-dealing. As a result of this case, Wayne LaPierre will be banned from the NRA for 10 years for spearheading this fraud, and the court called for additional proposed reforms to the NRA. After years of corruption, the NRA and its senior leaders are finally being held accountable.”
After five days of deliberations in February, a jury in New York held the National Rifle Association liable for financial mismanagement and found that LaPierre, the group’s former CEO, corruptly ran the nation’s most prominent gun rights group.
LaPierre and a senior executive at the NRA were ordered to pay a combined $6.35 million “for abusing the system and breaking our laws,” James, whose office brought the lawsuit against the organization, said following the verdict.
The jury determined that LaPierre’s violation of his duties cost the NRA $5.4 million in damages, though he already repaid more than $1 million to the organization. He must pay $4.35 million, the New York Attorney General’s Office said at the time.
The New York Attorney General’s Office sued the NRA and its senior management in 2020, claiming they misappropriated millions of dollars to fund personal benefits — including private jets, family vacations and luxury goods. The accusations came at the end of a three-year investigation into the NRA, which is registered in New York as a nonprofit charitable corporation.
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