The National Riflemen’s Association (NRA) admitted in a tax return that some of the group’s current and former leaders used the money from the nonprofit for personal gain.
The NRA reported through a 2019 tax return acquired by The Washington Postthat it investigated the alleged misuse of nonprofit funds after “becoming aware of a significant diversion of its assets during 2019”.
According to the Post, the tax return says NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and five former officials “received excessive benefits” – a term the IRS uses to increase officials at the expense of a nonprofit.
The recording comes after the NRA has been denying sound financial supervision for years and has been in New York for almost four months. Attorney General Letitia James (D) filed a lawsuit to dissolve the NRA resulting in a loss of more than $ 64 million over three years of allegations of company law violations.
Defendants named in the 18-counter lawsuit treated the 149-year-old nonprofit as their “personal piggy bank”.
Among the defendants is LaPierre himself, the lawsuit argues that despite the lack of qualifications of the NRA leader, he hired some of the defendants to senior management positions in order to “facilitate the misuse of charitable assets”.
However, the Post reported that the 2019 tax return suggests that the organization is behind the CEO while taking action against executives who have since left the nonprofit.
The announcement allegedly states this LaPierre “corrected” its financial maturity by repaying, while former executives “misused” funds from national regulators or expected “inappropriate” costs for the nonprofit.
LaPierre reportedly reimbursed the NRA for nearly $ 300,000 in travel expenses between 2015 and 2019, although the tax return does not explain how the amount was determined and when it was paid to LaPierre.
The NRA did not respond immediately to The Hill’s comments.
To your organization A spokesman for Andrew Arulanandam said in a statement that “the vast majority of Mr LaPierre’s travels were carried out in strict compliance with NRA policy,” the Post writes.
Charles Cotton, NRA vice president and chairman of the audit committee, told the Post that “the NRA is committed to strict adherence to its accounting audits and good governance practices.”
Last month, It was reported by the Wall Street Journal that the IRS has investigated LaPierre, who has led the NRA since 1991, on suspicion of criminal tax fraud.
LaPierre has often been confronted with the allegation that it has not received public compensation from both the national regulator and the suppliers. The leaked documents show that more than $ 540,000 was donated by the NRA advertising company. The NRA protected these expenses from a commercial standpoint.
A criminal tax investigation would mean the IRS was “looking for evidence of hiding,” Mark Matthews, a former head of the IRS criminal investigation unit, told the Journal at the time.
