Food stamp indictment against polygamous church leaders targets sect's money supply
A federal indictment unsealed on Tuesday accuses 11 leaders and members of a polygamous church of misusing food stamp benefits by diverting proceeds to benefit the church.
Among those charged is Lyle Jeffs, who took over the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after his brother went to prison for child rape, the Washington Post reports. “Compared with other cases against FLDS,” the Post says, “this one may prove to be the tipping point because it targets the church’s money supply.” A Salt Lake Tribune story links to the indictment; a press release is here.
The indictment alleges church leaders required some food purchased through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to be turned over to a storehouse and redistributed to those throughout the church. Prosecutors also claim that church convenience stories accepted SNAP card payments without providing any groceries; instead the money was used for ineligible purchases such as paper products, a Ford F-350 and a John Deere tractor.
The FLDS is facing other legal troubles as well. A Justice Department lawsuit alleges that the church controls the adjacent towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, violating the establishment clause, according to this story by the Arizona Republic. The suit also claims the towns violate the due process and equal protection clauses by enforcing church orders against residents, including people who aren’t church members. The federal trial began in January; it was interrupted on Monday when the presiding judge became ill, the Arizona Republic reports in another story.
A Labor Department lawsuit that also went to trial in January alleges the FLDS violated child-labor laws by putting children to work on a pecan farm when they should have been receiving an education, the Associated Press reports.
Hat tip to the Marshall Project.
Updated at 1 p.m. to include information on federal lawsuits against the FLDS.
