Wilson “Woody” Phillips, the former finance chief of the National Rifle Association (NRA), has been banned from managing money for any nonprofit organization in New York for 10 years.
The prohibition, announced on July 9 by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, comes months after a jury found Mr. Phillips liable in a scheme to enrich the NRA’s current and former executives in violation of laws governing nonprofits.
Under the agreement settling the case, Mr. Phillips is banned for 10 years from serving as a fiduciary of a not-for-profit or charitable organization registered, operating, or raising funds in New York. He must also undergo a training program before he can return to any such position.
The settlement relieves Mr. Phillips from the second phase of the civil corruption trial, although he still owes the NRA $2 million in damages for failing to uphold his duties as the gun rights group’s top treasurer.
The trial’s first phase concluded in February, when a jury ruled largely in favor of Ms. James, finding that the NRA has failed in its obligations to properly manage and safeguard its members’ assets for many years.
The jury verdict also stated that Wayne LaPierre, who served as the NRA’s chief executive and executive vice president for more than 30 years, had directed money away from the nonprofit organization to support his own luxurious lifestyle. He was found liable for $5.4 million in damages and has already repaid at least $1 million of that.
John Frazer, the NRA’s corporate secretary and former general counsel, was also found liable for misconduct. The jury determined that he made or authorized a false statement in the NRA’s regulatory filings but did not cause any monetary harm to the group. He is the only individual defendant who still works for the NRA.
Meanwhile, Mr. Phillips was ordered to pay $2 million in damages for failing to properly administer charitable funds.
The second phase of Ms. James’s civil trial is set to begin on July 15. Justice Joel Cohen of the New York State Supreme Court, sitting without a jury, will determine nonmonetary issues, such as whether Mr. LaPierre and Mr. Frazer should be banned from serving in leadership positions at charitable organizations in the state.
“New Yorkers deserve to know that when they support a not-for-profit, those donations are being used to advance its mission, not squandered on lavish perks for staff or cronies,” Ms. James said in a statement on July 9.
Attorneys for Mr. Phillips did not respond to requests for comment.
In response to the jury verdict, the NRA said in February it had been “victimized by certain former vendors and ‘insiders’ who abused the trust placed in them by the Association.” It also pointed to a string of “corrective measures” adopted as part of an internal investigation before the New York lawsuit.
“NRA members should be heartened by the NRA’s commitment to best practices, and we will continue to amplify our compliance record in the pivotal next phase of these proceedings,” NRA President Charles Cotton said at the time.
