Ex-polygamous sect leader gets nearly 5 years in fraud case
SALT LAKE CITY — A former polygamous sect leader was sentenced Wednesday to nearly five years in prison for his role in carrying out an elaborate food stamp fraud scheme and for escaping home confinement while awaiting trial.
The sentencing of Lyle Jeffs closes the book on a major government bust that took several years to investigate, culminating in February 2016 with fraud and money laundering charges against him and 10 other group members.
Lyle Jeffs was accused of being the ring-leader of a scheme that diverted some $11 million in food-stamp benefits to a communal storehouse and front companies over several years.
U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart said during a hearing in Salt Lake City that Lyle Jeffs deserved the 57-month prison sentence because his behaviour showed he doesn’t respect U.S. laws and puts his allegiance to his brother and the sect’s imprisoned prophet, Warren Jeffs, above everything else.