Lyle Steed Jeffs | |
---|---|
Born | January 17, 1960 |
Nationality | American |
Known for | FLDS involvement |
Parent(s) | Rulon Jeffs and Marilyn Steed |
Relatives | Brothers
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]