| Judge hears request to hamstring polygamous trust | |
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By Travis Reed The Associated Press Tucson Citizen | |
SALT LAKE CITY - A judge on Friday heard a request from the state of Utah to prevent leaders of a polygamous church from allegedly dumping assets from a charitable trust below market value and transferring them to insiders. It was unclear when 3rd District Judge Robert Adkins would rule on the request to appoint an independent party to oversee the assets, loosening the grip Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs has on several-thousand member enclave's assets. The Attorney General's office asked that an independent fiduciary be appointed and given the authority to investigate where the assets have gone. Virtually all property in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., was at one time transferred to the United Effort Plan trust to be shared by church members. The reclusive church president, considered a prophet by followers, has been accused of leveraging that control to oust members that might threaten his authority. It's unclear exactly how many assets the trust has or how many people are entitled to benefit from it, but Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has estimated it holds some $100 million. Six people are listed as trustees, but investigators believe Jeffs exercises almost sole authority, as he allegedly does in determining which church members are assigned wives and children in the isolated border towns the church dominates. At a 3rd District Court hearing set for June 22, the Attorney General's office will ask a judge to entirely remove all current trustees. The hearing Friday was an effort to "stop the bleeding" in the interim, assistant attorney general Tim Bodily said. Jeffs has stopped defending himself and the trust in lawsuits alleging leaders were responsible for child sexual abuse and wrongful banishment from the polygamous enclave, proving that church members aren't being protected, Bodily argued in court Friday. "The trust is left defenseless," he said. The courtroom table set aside for the defense was vacant Friday because the state didn't provide prior notice to Jeffs or other fund trustees. Bodily argued they wouldn't have shown up anyway, and said he feared Jeffs and others would accelerate selling off trust assets if they believed it would be taken over by the state. Shurtleff's office has brought the southern Utah polygamous enclave under increasing scrutiny amid allegations of sexual abuse, forced marriages and welfare fraud - though none have produced criminal charges. He insists he's not interested in prosecuting members for illegal multiple marriages - which the FLDS believe is the height of religious exaltation - but instead for other allegations of abuse. Bodily repeated that promise Friday, saying, "There is no message to Warren Jeffs other than as a trustee of this trust." The FLDS church traces its roots to Joseph Smith, founder of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1890, the mainstream Mormon church officially abolished plural marriage and members who advocate it are excommunicated. Still, it's believed that tens of thousands of Mormon fundamentalists and others across the West continue the practice. Jeffs has not been seen in either community straddling the Utah-Arizona border for more than a year, and is thought to be on a 2,000-acre ranch near Eldorado, Texas, where he reportedly plans to move select members of the church. Some ousted church members believe Jeffs is draining the church's trust in order to fund construction of the Texas compound and fear he will evict those who remain behind from their homes. The attorney general made an effort to replace UEP trustees in February in a different case, but the courts said he lacked jurisdiction. | |
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tucsoncitizen.com Originally published May 27, 2005 | |
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