On Thursday morning, August 6, New York Attorney General Letitia James called for the dissolution of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in a new lawsuit, which alleges that CEO Wayne LaPierre and other top executives engaged in fraud to drain the gun rights group of $64 million in just 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. The statement also revealed that her investigation, which began in February 2019, found “a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the NRA that was illegal, oppressive, and fraudulent.”
James also asked that a court bar LaPierre, general counsel John Frazer, former treasurer Woody Phillips and former chief of staff Joshua Powell from ever serving in a leadership position for a New York charity again.
The lawsuit claims that LaPierre and members of his inner circle had a secret agreement to pass questionable expenses through the NRA’s Oklahoma-based advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen.
“Under this agreement, the suit alleges, LaPierre and his inner circle of trusted deputies rerouted millions of dollars in lavish personal expenses for themselves, their families and allies through Ackerman McQueen,” The Washington Post writes. “The goal was to avoid having the board or other members of the NRA know that the charitable organization was paying so much money for LaPierre’s membership fees at golf clubs, private jets and designer suits, the lawsuit said.”
Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
