Watchdog Group Sues UT State Lawmaker Over "Pyramid Scheme" To Take Federal Lands

[hatrack]

A watchdog organization filed complaints against a Utah state representative on Monday for allegedly leading “an illegal scheme to defraud local government officials out of taxpayer funds” to finance a campaign to seize America’s public lands.

The complaints, filed by the Campaign for Accountability (CfA), request that the attorneys general of Utah, Arizona and Montana investigate state Rep. Ken Ivory (R) for “solicit[ing] funds from local officials, falsely claiming the federal government can be forced to transfer public lands to the states.” The complaints cite Ivory’s use of his role as president and founder of the American Lands Council (ALC), a Utah-based organization, to “enrich” his personal wealth and make “false or fraudulent representations to obtain money.”

Anne Weismann, executive director of the CfA, called Rep. Ivory a “snake oil salesman, cloaked with respectability by his position as a legislator,” in a press release. “Ken Ivory has relied on his position and authority as a Utah state legislator to persuade unsuspecting local officials that if they contribute taxpayer dollars to his charity, they can help their states acquire federal land and increase revenues,” Weismann continued. “He might as well be trying to sell them the Brooklyn Bridge.”

The ALC, which Ivory founded to advocate for giving America’s public lands to state governments, pays both Ivory and his wife for their respective roles as the group’s president and communications director. Additionally, “more than 50 percent of the organization’s most recent budget,” which comes primarily from contributions made by local governments, “was spent enriching Rep. Ivory and his wife,” according to the press release announcing the complaints. Ivory has denied the accusations of wrongdoing. In comments to the Associated Press, Ivory called the complaints shameful, saying they represented “bullying tactics to stifle legitimate political debate.” He said the group was his primary job and therefore it made sense that he was paid for his work. In addition, he said that his $40,000 yearly salary is “a small fraction of the salaries that environmental groups pay their top officers.”

EDIT

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/06/02/3665047/ken-ivory-public-lands-complaint/

[HassleCat]

1. Who would fall for that?

What local official would think it's OK to transfer taxpayer dollars to this "charity?" I guess this guy talks a smooth line. Hence the "snake oil salesman" designation.