SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders and members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church charged in a massive food stamp fraud scheme are scheduled to go on trial for four weeks, beginning May 31.
During a brief federal court hearing in St. George, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Braithwaite scheduled the month-long trial for Lyle Jeffs, Seth Jeffs, John Wayman and others. They’re charged with money laundering and food stamp fraud.
The FLDS leaders are accused of ordering members of Warren Jeffs’ Utah-based polygamous church to hand over their SNAP cards to do with as they pleased. Federal prosecutors have alleged the fraud exceeds $12 million.
It is unknown if the trial date will hold, but the judge set a cutoff for plea deals beginning in early May.
