Church leaders of the US polygamous sect entered not guilty plea over food stamp fraud and money laundering allegations. Eleven members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were arrested and indicted in polygamous sect in Utah and South Dakota, on Tuesday.
The said polygamous leaders and members were accused of orchestrating a scheme, diverted money from the federal government food assistance program for the poor, NPR reported. Among the eleven accused, six pleaded guilty of the charges, said by the spokeswoman, Melodie Rydalch of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City.
Lyle and Seth Jeffs, two brothers of the imprisoned church leader, Warren Jeffs, who is considered the prophet of the faith. He is serving a prison sentence since 2011 of up to life imprisonment plus 20 years in Texas for illegally marrying and sexually abusing girl minors. The two pleaded not guilty, the five indicted to the crime has not yet been arrested, Yahoo News reported.
The sect is located in the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, according to Reuters. The said church was a branch of the Salt Lake City-based mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, however, it rejected polygamous relationship on 1890. The FLDS has no affiliation with the said sect.
According to the indictment, every year, FLDS church members receive millions of dollars in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The said program aims to help poor families and individuals purchased food.
However, Jeffs and other church leaders allegedly ordered members to surrender their SNAP benefits to the church and then, redistributed it to the community. Church leaders also told members to transfer their program benefits to church-owned stores without receiving food.
Prosecutors want all the eleven people to be kept imprisoned. Other defendants are scheduled to make appearances in St. George, Utah, and Custer County, South Dakota.
