New York attorney general wants National Rifle Association dissolved amid fraud allegations

The investigation started in February 2019. James said they found “a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the NRA that was illegal, oppressive, and fraudulent."

She said top NRA officials repeatedly took advantage of their positions for personal gain.

James said her investigation uncovered LaPierre recently arranged a post-employment contract for himself with the NRA worth $17 million. The lawsuit said he never sought board approval for that deal.

The lawsuit also claims LaPierre failed to report large sums of personal income to the IRS.

James said he funneled personal expenses through an outside public relations firm, allowing him to avoid reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own income.

In a statement last year, a dozen NRA board members said they have “full confidence in the NRA’s accounting practices and commitment to good governance.”

The Washington Post reported LaPierre had racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in charges at a Beverly Hills clothing boutique and on foreign travel.

The Post also reported the lawsuit "expands on previous allegations that LaPierre improperly charged the NRA for private jet travel and luxury vacation that had no clear business purpose."

LaPierre is accused in the filing of billing the NRA for more than $500,000 worth of private charter flights that took him and his family to visit the Bahamas eight times over three years.

A spokesman for LaPierre told The Post last year that those visits to the Bahamas were for NRA business. The New York attorney general’s investigation claims the trips were private vacations.

The suit said LaPierre was reimbursed by the NRA for $1.2 million in four years for expenses that were personal trips, golf fees, and gifts.

It also accuses LaPierre of spending $3.6 million of NRA money for private travel consultants to arrange private jets and executive car service for his and his family’s use two years.

The lawsuit also said he set aside several millions of dollars each year for private security for him and his family.

One NRA vendor gave LaPierre and his wife an all-expense paid trip to Africa for a safari adventure. Another vendor frequently loaned LaPierre and his family his 107-foot yacht for Caribbean visits.

Phillips, the former treasurer, is accused in the lawsuit of arranging an NRA deal worth more than $1 million that benefited his girlfriend. 

He retired in 2018, but shortly before stepping down, the suit said Phillips obtained a contract for himself worth $1.8 million.

That deal was supposedly paying Phillips for consulting services for the new treasurer, but the new treasurer said he knew nothing of the contract and never received advice or services from Phillips.

Powell, LaPierre’s former chief of staff, had his salary increased from $250,000 to $800,00 in three years. The lawsuit claims this increase was a "reward for his loyalty to LaPierre."

It said he also pocketed $100,000 more he was not entitled to as a housing allowance. The lawsuit said Powell also arranged for his wife and father to earn money through NRA contracts.

Frazer was general counsel to the NRA. The lawsuit accuses him of failing to make sure the nonprofit was governed properly and followed state and federal laws.

James's lawsuit goes on to claim there was secret agreement to pass questionable expenses through the NRA's Oklahoma-based advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen.

The suit said LaPierre and his inner circle used this agreement to reroute millions of dollars that were used to fund lavish personal expenses through Ackerman McQueen and try to make sure the board or other members of the NRA did not know charitable organization were funding these things.

Ackerman McQueen then billed the NRA for the large, unexplained sums, calling them “out-of-pocket” expenses. That suggested the expenses were related to the company’s advertising work for the NRA.

The Post reported James's investigation found Ackerman McQueen billed the NRA $70 million in 2017 and 2018 for its public relations work, including “out-of-pocket” expenses.