11 FLDS leaders, including Lyle Jeffs, indicted on conspiracy charges
UPDATE: Eight of the 11 people indicted have been arrested.
(KUTV) Lyle Jeffs, brother of imprisoned FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, has been indicted on conspiracy charges, including food stamp fraud and money laundering.
Jeffs, who has been running the polygamist FLDS community in Hildale and Colorado City while his brother serves his sentence, faces a two-count indictment unsealed Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
The indictment charges 11 leaders and members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with conspiracy to commit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney in the District of Utah.
The indictment alleges that FLDS church leaders used SNAP proceeds from authorized beneficiaries for "unapproved purposes."
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A large percentage of those living in Short Creek - the area on the Utah and Arizona boarder made up of mostly FLDS members - receive SNAP benefits amounting to millions of dollars each year, according to the Department of Justice.
"This indictment is not about religion. This indictment is about fraud," said U.S. Attorney John W. Huber. "This indictment charges a sophisticated group of individuals operating in the Hildale-Colorado City community who conspired to defraud a program intended to help low-income individuals and families purchase food."
Arrest warrants were issued for all defendants charged in the indictment.
Those facing charges are: Lyle Steed Jeffs, John Clifton Wayman, Kimball Dee Barlow, Winford Johnson Barlow, Rulon Mormon Barlow, Ruth Peine Barlow and Preston Yates Barlow, all of Hildale. Seth Steed Jeffs of Custer, S.D., and Nephi Steed Allred, Hyrum Bygnal Dutson and Kristal Meldrum Dutson, all of Colorado City, were also charged in the indictment.
According to the Department of Justice, Lyle Jeffs runs the FLDS church's daily affairs, including finances, while his brother Warren serves a life sentence at a Texas prison. Their brother, Seth Steed Jeffs, also facing charges, leads an FLDS congregation in rural South Dakota.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office helped initiate the investigation and is working with the FBI on the case.
"What started as a small investigation quickly grew to a point where it was important to work with federal agencies to build a case to present to a grand jury," said Sheriff Cory Pulsipher.
Washington County Attorney Brock R. Belnap will be involved in prosecuting the case as a special assistant U.S. attorney.
"Today's indictment is the culmination of the tireless efforts," said Eric Barnhart, special agent in charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City field office. "The violations included in the indictment are especially egregious since they allege that leaders of the conspiracy directed others to commit crimes, for which only certain people benefited. This type of conduct represents nothing less than pure theft."
Read the full indictment below:
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