From Deseret News archives:
Fiscal reforms coming to FLDS
Judge expected to back changes to UEP Trust
A judge in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court is poised to sign a reformation plan for the Fundamentalist LDS Church's financial empire, the United Effort Plan (UEP) Trust.
In Hildale and across the border in Colorado City, Ariz., the roads are a patchwork of pavement and red dirt. Some homes are grand, with stately brick, spiraling staircases, ornate fences and multiple entrances. Others are tiny, run-down trailers or unfinished buildings with wood fences put up to keep the outside world at bay.
Signs indicate they sit on "UEP property." The trust controls homes, businesses and property in these towns and other FLDS enclaves. Its assets are estimated at more than $100 million.
Based on the early Mormon concept of a "united order," people share property, goods and profits. They're supposed to get them back according to their wants and needs. But in 2005, the state of Utah took control of the UEP Trust amid allegations that FLDS leader Warren Jeffs had been siphoning money from the "united effort."
The judge appointed certified public accountant Bruce Wisan to handle the UEP.
"It's been probably the most impactful thing that I've ever done," he said. "Issuing financial statements and doing tax returns usually doesn't affect thousands of people."
Jeffs is awaiting extradition to Utah, where he faces criminal charges of rape as an accomplice. He is accused of forcing teenage girls into a polygamous marriage with an older man. He is facing similar charges across the border in Mohave County, Ariz.
On the run from police, Jeffs was arrested in a simple traffic stop on I-15 last week outside Las Vegas. The FBI is now looking into who helped keep Jeffs on the lam for years. Both Utah and Arizona authorities say there are other investigations into Jeffs and the FLDS Church.
Court takeover
Wisan allowed a Deseret Morning News reporter to accompany him as he visited the polygamous border towns just days after Jeffs was arrested in Las Vegas.
"I think everyone's just waiting to see what happens," he said of the community's reaction to the arrest. "They're just being very careful. They don't want to show disloyalty."
Standing on a sidewalk outside the local mercantile, Wisan gets a few glares from FLDS faithful. Since being placed in charge of the UEP, many FLDS have come to see him as an enemy of their prophet. They have viewed the actions of the court as a "government takeover."
