Lyle Jeffs was sentenced for food stamp fraud in Salt Lake City today. He’s the former leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous group located in southern Utah.
Jeffs received a sentence of just under five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud and failure to appear in court. He was also ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency that was defrauded.
According to prosecutors, Jeffs led a conspiracy to launder money and defraud benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. After pleading not guilty to fraud charges last year he removed his ankle monitor and went into hiding. Jeffs was arrested in South Dakota after almost a year on the run.
Lyle is the brother of FLDS President Warren Jeffs who is serving a life prison sentence.