Judge heads to Dixie for hearing on UEP Trust board
 
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
 
The judge in charge of the multimillion-dollar financial arm of the Fundamentalist LDS Church is hitting the road.

Third District Court Judge Denise P. Lindberg will travel to St. George to hold a hearing on Aug. 17 to pick new advisory board members for the United Effort Plan Trust.

"It's certainly a helpful thing for her to do because it makes it so much easier for the members of the community to testify there instead of traveling to Salt Lake City," said Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed special fiduciary of the UEP Trust.

Lindberg is not expected to make a trip out to the polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., where the bulk of the UEP's assets are held in land. In previous court hearings, she has expressed interest in seeing the communities for herself.

"We wanted her to," Wisan said, adding that the judge would be on a tight time schedule.

In 2005, the courts took control of the UEP Trust amid allegations that polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs and other top church officials had been "fleecing" it. The UEP Trust has assets estimated at more than $100 million.

The polygamous border towns are the stronghold of the FLDS Church, led by Warren Jeffs, who is facing a September trial in St. George's 5th District Court on charges of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.

The court's control of the UEP Trust has been contentious at times, with "disappearing" buildings and FLDS members refusing to cooperate with any reform efforts. The Washington County Sheriff's Office is expected to provide security for the judge while she is in southern Utah.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Saturday, August 4, 2007
 
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