New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday that the state will move to dissolve the non-profit National Rifle Association for rampant self-dealing and the failure of its leadership to live up to their fiduciary responsibilities, CNBC reports.

NRA leadership’s failure to properly manage the group’s funds have led to the loss of more than $60 million in the past three years, the lawsuit alleges.

The civil lawsuit accuses NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre; Woody Phillips, the former treasurer and chief financial officer; Joshua Powell, LaPierre’s former chief of staff; and John Frazer, the corporate secretary and general counsel of gross mismanagement and seeks to bar them from ever serving on the board of a non-profit organization in the future.

LaPierre, the face of the NRA for two decades, was specifically singled out for extravagant expenses paid for by the non-profit arm of the organization.  These expenses include the purchase of a $6 million estate in Texas, numerous trips to the Bahamas, and all-expenses paid safaris to Africa with his wife.

The suit also accuses Oklahoma advertising agency Ackerman McQueen of laundering expenses for NRA executives, cycling funds paying for personal expenses of NRA executives back through the agency as billables to the NRA.

After a near 40-year relationship with the Ack-Mac, the NRA severed its contract with the agency in 2019 primarily over the failure of NRA-TV and the inclusion of non-gun rights content like immigration and stoking race tensions in the United States.  The NRA was the agency’s largest client by far, with billables exceeding $40 million per year.

The NRA recently announced the layoff of 200 employees in June.  While it was operating at a profit as recently as 2015, when the NRA reported a $28 million surplus, the organization has lost tens of millions of dollars in the previous four years, including logging a $36 million loss in 2018.  Revenues for the organization in 2019 exceeded $400 million.

This civil suit is not a state criminal indictment, but James did state that she was referring some allegations to the Internal Revenue Service for criminal investigation.

The National Rifle Association is a 501(c)(4) organization chartered in the State of New York, giving the state authority to order the group to dissolve based on violations of state law and its charter.  This lawsuit does not allege any wrongdoing on the part of the organization regarding its advocacy.

Additional reporting is available from these organizations:  NPR, the Washington Post, and NBC News.