The former treasurer for the National Rifle Association has been banned from serving as a financial manager for any non-profit company or organization for ten years, and will now have to repay the organization $2 million.
It’s a revelation which Fredy Riehl, editor-in-chief at AMMOLAND News, immediately results in “further deepening the trust issues we’ve had with the organization’s leadership.”
Now-retired NRA chief financial officer Wilson “Woody” Phillips left the association in 2018, but he remains “on the hook” for the $2 million, according to the Associated Press.
The settlement announcement comes on the eve of the second phase of court proceedings against the NRA, initiated more than two years ago by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who actually ran for office vowing to go after the organization. That phase of legal action begins July 15 in the Manhattan courtroom of Judge Joel Cohen.
Former NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle while billing the organization, will owe NRA $4.35 million, according to US News. LaPierre resigned from NRA as the first phase of the trial was about to begin earlier this year.
At that trial, the jury found Wilson “responsible for a scheme…funding the lifestyle of…LaPierre,” the Washington Examiner is reporting.
New officers and a handful of “reform” directors were elected earlier this year to the NRA Board of Directors. As reported by TGM at the time, NRA’s new leadership team includes NRA President Bob Barr, First Vice President Bill Bachenberg, Second Vice President Mark Vaughan, Executive Vice President Doug Hamlin and Compliance Officer Bob Mensinger.
NRA’s troubles erupted publicly back in 2019 during the organization’s annual meeting in Indianapolis. For the next few years, the organization was in turmoil over the allegations, and over the amount of money being spent on legal representation. NRA misfired when it tried to declare bankruptcy and move to Texas, which a federal judge rejected.
During that time, the organization lost at least a million members and many times that in funds, according to some estimates. It also became something of a shadow of its former self as a lobbying and political powerhouse.
AG James issued a statement, quoted by the media, in which she said, “For decades, Wilson Phillips oversaw and allowed financial mismanagement and corruption at the NRA, and that is why the jury found him, the NRA, and his co-defendants, senior executives Wayne LaPierre and John Frazer, liable for their misconduct.”
She further asserted the sanctions against Phillips “should serve as an example that my office will hold anyone, and everyone, involved in abusing their power or misappropriating funds accountable.”
