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On December 31, 2009, Bruce R. Wisan, the Court-Appointed Special Fiduciary for the United Effort Plan Trust, issued to the Third District Court of Salt Lake City a report of the legal and financial challenges encountered by the Trust over the last sixteen months. He acknowledges in this report the serious problems now facing the Trust but attempts to blame them on the FLDS people rather than admitting that these problems are the direct result of his own self-serving agenda and his implementation of the program of the Attorneys General of Utah and Arizona to destroy the FLDS Church and liquidate its assets. 

 

In May of 2005 the offices of the Attorneys General of Utah and Arizona justified a state takeover of the United Effort Plan Trust by alleging that the trustees were liquidating the assets of the Trust and failing to defend the Trust against civil lawsuits. Not one of these claims was legitimate. A Trust which was debt-free prior to the takeover is now saddled with over $3 million of debt and faces total destruction.     

 

Immediately after his appointment to manage the Trust, the Fiduciary seized the proceeds of a $1.5 million transaction that he had promised to use to pay United Effort Plan taxes and legal expenses and instead paid himself and his attorneys to litigate against FLDS member-owned businesses. FLDS beneficiaries have been placed in a position where they are required not only to pay for their own legal defense but also to fund the attacks against them by the Fiduciary appointed to manage the Trust and preserve its assets.

 

In reporting on the settlement negotiations in April and May of 2009, Mr. Wisan claims that he made a “good faith effort.” Never, however, has the Fiduciary operated in any way except for his own financial gain and that of his attorneys. During the second day of the settlement talks, Mr. Wisan and Bill Richards of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office walked out, Mr. Wisan declaring to the media that “there will be no settlement.” Talks continued with the Utah Attorney General’s Office for three more days; but when a potential settlement was reached, Mr. Wisan and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office filed motions against it.

 

Mr. Wisan claims in his report that FLDS members have filed numerous lawsuits in order to cripple his ability to administer the Trust. In reality, Mr. Wisan has been generating conflicts and problems and then billing the Trust for “solving” the very problems he has created, having paid himself an average of $85,000 a month for such “services” during his first year as Fiduciary. A careful reading of the report will show that most of the lawsuits were filed by the Fiduciary himself. Many letters have been written to the Fiduciary and to the Utah Attorney General by FLDS members seeking relief without litigation. Those suits and motions filed by the FLDS were solely for the purpose of returning the Trust to the original intent of the Settlors and preventing the irresponsible liquidation of Trust assets.

 

Bruce Wisan’s claim that he has added $10 million to the Trust balance sheet is false and is based on the unethical accounting practices of his on-site manager Jethro Barlow. Mr. Barlow, an experienced con artist, lost his CPA license by claiming millions of dollars worth of equity in a company that had all the assets sucked out of it.

 

The $10 million addition is based primarily on default judgments against the FLDS Church and its members. Harker Farms in Beryl, Utah, which for years had helped provide for the just wants and needs of the beneficiaries of the Trust, was seized by Mr. Wisan as partial payment of his suits against the FLDS Church. He then hired anti-FLDS crusaders to operate the once-successful dairy. After leaving many families without work, he began systematically to evict any families that did not subscribe to his mandates. He seized hay that was raised by the Harker family and is currently attempting to sell the cattle. The Special Fiduciary claims that the Trust has benefited by what he has done to the farm, asserting that as the “state-ordained bishop,” he and the Court can provide for the just wants and needs of FLDS members better than their Bishop.

 

Mr. Wisan claims that he has created “profit centers” and has kept “roofs over the heads of women and children.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Many businesses have been forced to close their doors or to relocate because of the baneful policies of the Fiduciary. A prime example is Western Precision, one of the largest employers in the area. Within months of his appointment, the Special Fiduciary filed a lawsuit against Western Precision, claiming that the land that was sold to the business in a valid and legal transaction belonged to the Trust. After spending its resources to defend itself and at the risk of financial destruction, the company settled litigation and left the community. Mr. Wisan quickly consumed the $1.6 million realized from its sale of the building, which now sits empty since the buyer was misinformed and has been unable to use it.

 

Eviction cases are currently pending (UEP Trust vs. Guy Steed), and more eviction notices have been sent out as recently as December of 2009. The case against Guy Steed is a test case with over fifty cases set to follow. Numerous families who for years lived in security on Trust property now face the prospect of being left homeless. In his report the Fiduciary claims that he has not applied a religious test in considering petitions for homes and does not know who is or is not a member of the FLDS Church. Each petition, however, is reviewed by Jethro Barlow, an ex-FLDS member who knows full well the religious affiliation of the petitioner. To date every request by an FLDS member has been denied while the petitions of non-FLDS members are invariably granted.

 

Not only do FLDS members live under threat of eviction from their homes, but their right to privacy has been violated by the directive of the Fiduciary. Isaac Wyler, an ex-FLDS member employed by Mr. Wisan, testified in court that the Fiduciary ordered him to enter several residences to see who was living there. Mr. Wisan’s claim that the local police brought charges against Mr. Wyler is misleading. He was not charged by the police department but rather by an independent prosecutor and was tried and found guilty of criminal trespass by an independent court. The prosecutor used Mr. Wyler’s testimony to file charges against Bruce Wisan and Jethro Barlow, whose trials are now pending. Mr. Wisan continues to use Trust funds to employ Mr. Wyler and to hire counsel to defend him.

 

In spite of a petition signed by more than 4,000 Trust beneficiaries who pled to the Court for relief from this self-serving Fiduciary, he continues, with the support of the Arizona and Utah Attorneys General, to suppress and violate the freedoms of a devoutly religious group who desire to satisfy their just wants and needs by holding their property in common with their Church.

 

With a promised tax payment not made, other taxes left unpaid, trust assets wasted, and FLDS families threatened with eviction and their privacy violated, it is obvious that the Special Fiduciary has administered the UEP Trust in a vindictive manner for his personal gain and that of his attorneys. He has now hired a PR firm to cover up his mismanagement of the Trust. However, as Willie Jessop remarked, “It doesn’t matter how much frosting you put on a horse biscuit, it still is what it is.”