Judge removes UEP leaders from trust
 Order withdraws leaders' control of more than $100 million in assets
 
By Patrice St. Germain
patrices@thespectrum.com
 
SALT LAKE CITY - A Salt Lake City judge signed an order Wednesday morning removing Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prophet Warren Jeffs and five other members of the church as trustees of the United Effort Plan.

The Utah Attorney General's Office had asked for and was granted a temporary restraining order against the trustees last month to prevent UEP trustees from transferring assets - including land, equipment or funds - out of the trust. Although it isn't certain how much the UEP trust is worth, it is estimated that it controls about $100 million in funds and assets.

Third District Court Judge Glenn Iwasaki signed the order permanently removing the six trustees, which includes Jeffs, Leroy Jeffs, Winston Blackmore, James Zitting, Truman Barlow and William E. Jessop, also known as William E. Timpson. With the exception of Blackmore, none of the other trustees appeared in court.

Two weeks ago, Warren Jeffs, the leader of the FLDS church, was indicted on two separate felony charges in Mohave County, and an arrest warrant was issued for Jeffs' arrest. The charges against Jeffs include sexual misconduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct with a minor for reportedly arranging a marriage between a 28-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl.

Assistant Utah Attorney General Tim Bodily said the next court hearing will be July 21, during which Judge Constandinos Himonas is expected to appoint new trustees for the United Effort Plan.

Bodily said his office was pleased with the outcome of Wednesday's court hearing, but the office was still troubled that the trustees, for whatever reasons, made no attempt to respond to the petitions and the concerns raised by the state.

"We had the petition that we had filed, and the judge granted our release," Bodily said. "The order he (Judge Iwasaki) signed appointed a special fiduciary and ordered the removal of the trustees."

Certified public accountant Bruce Wisan was appointed the special fiduciary. His role, in addition to protecting certain assets, will be expanded to investigate the trust's holdings.

Bodily said some of the names posed as new trustees include Winston Blackmore, the leader of an FLDS offshoot in Canada, Rayo Johnson, John Neilsen, Roger Williams, Don Timpson, Carolyn Jessop, Margaret Cook and Lee Van Dam. Van Dam has no connection to the church.

Bodily said his office is not planning to endorse or dispute any of the candidates for trustees.

The UEP was formed in the 1940s, and members of the FLDS church contributed to the fund.

While Shurtleff estimated the trust holdings at $100 million, no one knows for sure how much the trust is worth. Shurtleff said in a previous interview that sorting out the assets of the UEP would be the most difficult job the special fiduciary would have.

Right now, although the trustees are suspended, they remain obligated to protect trust interests until new trustees are in place. Bodily said that is a concern of the Attorney General's Office, but if the trustees are transferring property and his office becomes aware of it, they would address those issues in court.

Colorado City resident Lori Chatwin said despite the court order freezing all assets of the United Effort Plan, property has been disappearing in the twin cities of Hildale and Colorado City, which are dominated by the FLDS church, and no one is doing anything about it.

"I do feel a little better (about the removal of the trustees) but the folks out there don't feel like they are governed by the government and their laws and rules," she said. "Things are walking off here, and people are being shuffled from house to house, and nobody is doing anything."
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published June 23, 2005
 
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