Lyle Jeffs

Lyle Steed Jeffs
Born (1960-01-17) January 17, 1960 (age 64)
NationalityAmerican
Known forFLDS involvement
Parent(s)Rulon Jeffs and Marilyn Steed
RelativesBrothers Warren, Seth, Nephi;
nephews Brent W. Jeffs, Helaman Jeffs

Lyle Jeffs is the brother of Warren Jeffs and a bishop in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly referred to as the FLDS Church.[1] He has been referred to as his brother's "special counselor" in some church documents.[2]

Jeffs was the FLDS bishop for both Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona.[3] According to The Salt Lake Tribune, he was removed from office in 2012.[4] He was convicted and sentenced in 2017 to five years in prison for orchestrating a welfare fraud scheme.[5]

Lyle is the son of Rulon Jeffs, who was president of the FLDS Church from 1986 until his death in 2002.[6] Lyle is also the uncle of author and ex-FLDS member Brent W. Jeffs.

On April 9, 2015, U.S. District Judge David Sam held Lyle Jeffs in contempt of court.[7] In 2012, the United States Department of Labor began an investigation into the role of the FLDS Church and Jeffs in suspected child labor violations.[8][7] A CNN report claimed that children were used to harvest nuts at the Southern Utah Pecan Ranch in 2012.[8][7] Judge Sam ruled that Lyle Jeffs and his brother Nephi disobeyed subpoenas requiring them to answer questions from Labor Department investigators.[7]

On April 20, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor assessed fines totaling $1.96 million against a group of FLDS church members, including Lyle Jeffs, for alleged labor violations during the church's 2012 pecan harvest at an orchard near Hurricane, Utah.[9]

Jeffs allegedly escaped house arrest in June 2016 by slipping out of an FBI ankle bracelet.[10]

On June 14, 2017, Jeffs was arrested by the FBI in Yankton, South Dakota.[11]

On September 20, 2017, Jeffs pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal to one count of defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) one count of failure to appear in court, while a money laundering charge was dismissed.[12] Jeffs was sentenced on December 13, 2017, to nearly five years of prison, three years of probation, and $1 million in restitution.[5] He was monitored by the Phoenix Residential Reentry Management field office, and was released on March 15, 2021.[13]

Notes

  1. ^ "Jeffs' brother will take over: Ex-FLDS member". CBS News. August 5, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  2. ^ Dobner, Jennifer (April 22, 2011). "New FLDS commerce filings support Warren Jeffs presidency". The Deseret News. Archived from the original on May 30, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  3. ^ "FLDS bishops take appeal to Utah Supreme Court". The Deseret News. Associated Press. November 30, 2010. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  4. ^ Whitehurst, Lindsay (April 27, 2012). "Reports: Warren Jeffs boots brother from polygamous sect's pulpit". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Lyle Jeffs, one-time leader of Utah polygamous sect, sentenced to prison for food stamp fraud, absconding". The Associated Press. Salt Lake Tribune. December 13, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  6. ^ Jeffs, Brent W. (2009). Lost Boy. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0767931779.
  7. ^ a b c d "Judge finds Warren Jeffs' brothers in contempt". The Associated Press. Salt Lake Tribune. April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Carlisle, Nate (September 17, 2014). "Here's more on federal investigation into FLDS child labor". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  9. ^ "FLDS Church Members Fined $2 Million for Alleged Child Labor Violations". ABC News. May 8, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  10. ^ "Polygamist leader Lyle Jeffs used olive oil to escape from custody, FBI says". July 11, 2016.
  11. ^ Eliott C. McLaughlin; Carma Hassan (June 15, 2017). "FBI: Tip yields arrest of polygamist Mormon sect leader Lyle Jeffs". CNN.
  12. ^ "Polygamist Lyle Jeffs pleads guilty in food stamp fraud, absconding case". The Associated Press. Salt Lake Tribune. September 20, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  13. ^ Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator 24426-081. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints titles
Preceded by President in Charge
Warren Jeffs
2002 – present
With: Disputed interruptions by:
Lyle Jeffs (designated acting president)
William E. Jessop (once momentarily successor)
Merril Jessop (once de facto head)
Wendell L. Nielsen (one time head of temporal affairs) 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Warren Jeffs