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New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a civil lawsuit to dissolve the National Rifle Association, alleging that the gun rights organization diverted $64 million in charitable donations over a three-year period.
In the lawsuit filed on Thursday, James called for dissolution of the NRA and the removal of Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre, who has served for more than three decades. The lawsuit states that LaPierre exploited the organization for his financial benefit and the benefit of a close circle of NRA staff, board members and vendors.
The complaint lays out dozens of examples where four executives named in the suit used tens of millions of dollars from NRA reserves for personal use, including trips for them and their families to the Bahamas, private jets, expensive meals and other private travel. The 138-year-old organization went from a $27.8 million surplus in 2015, to a $36.3 million deficit in 2018.
“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. “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.”
In addition to shuttering the NRA’s doors, James seeks to recoup millions in lost assets and to stop the four individual defendants from serving on the board of any nonprofit charitable organization in the state of New York again.
Watch Attorney General Letitia James’ news conference here.
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