Salt Lake City, USA - The FLDS church and heirs of a former prophet want a Utah judge to remove a fiduciary who oversees a polygamous community's property trust, alleging the trustee's actions have left the trust in "decidedly worse" shape than when he took over its management.
A motion filed Wednesday alleges Bruce R. Wisan has failed to protect United Effort Plan Trust property and is biased against FLDS members, who are a majority of the trust's beneficiaries. Wisan has overseen the UEP Trust since May 2005.
The motion was filed by the corporation of the president of the FLDS church and the estate of Rulon T. Jeffs, the sect's former president.
Both entities claim to have a beneficiary interest in the trust, though 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg has not ruled on whether they have standing in the case.
They ask Lindberg to appoint a new fiduciary who does not have "an obvious conflict of interest" -- something she has refused to do in the past.
Attorney Jeff Shields, who represents Wisan, said he could not comment because he had not yet read the filing.
The motion refers to comments by Wisan and his attorneys, in billings and court hearings, about being "at war" with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
It says Wisan has saddled the trust with millions in debt -- owed mostly to himself and his attorneys -- despite Lindberg's order that such obligations be avoided. The trust now faces selling off property to cover expenses.
"While the interests of trust beneficiaries strongly favor keeping the property to the trust intact, the interests of Mr. Wisan and his lawyers now favor liquidation in order to pay their very substantial fees," the motion states.
Wisan has not filed a financial report since May 2, 2008, but estimates of the trust's debt surpass $2 million. Lindberg has blamed the debt on the FLDS' refusal to work with Wisan.
The motion also claims Wisan has let attorneys, an investigator and former FLDS members aligned with the Diversity Foundation, set up by ex-sect member Dan Fischer, control trust operations with the goal of "implementing fundamental change in the structure of a community and a religion."
Diversity Foundation funded lawsuits that led to the trust's takeover. It then donated $10,000 to fund Wisan's initial trust work and has shared services of its hired investigator with Wisan, the filing states.
The FLDS also say Wisan has failed to protect trust assets by ensuring property taxes are paid. The trust owes $186,020 to Arizona for taxes due in 2007 and 2008; another $112,408 is past due for 2008 in Utah.
The fiduciary, the motion notes, faces criminal trespassing charges in Arizona after authorizing an employee to break into homes occupied by FLDS members.