Whistleblower Lawsuit Filed Against NRA In Virginia Court

Apryl Marie Fogel, former Director of the Women’s Leadership Forum, filed suit this past Friday afternoon against the NRA in Fairfax County Circuit Court. The lawsuit alleges the NRA violated the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Law, Va. Code § 40.1-27.3, by terminating her after she had made numerous reports about the misuse of monies in violation of the NRA’s own policies. She reported these violations to, among others, former Executive Director of Advancement Tyler Schropp and current NRA Director Janet Nyce. Nyce also serves as the co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Forum.

Representing Ms. Fogel is attorney Jane Lemley of the firm Harrison and Johnston, PLC of Winchester, Virginia. Lemley is an expert in employment and labor law who has been listed in multiple issues of The Best Lawyers in America.

The suit alleges:

• Fogel reported to both Tyler Schropp as Executive Director of the Office of Advancement and to the co-chairs of the Women’s Leadership Forum Janet Nyce and Jane Brown.
• Fogel had worked with other tax-exempt charitable organizations and understood that accurate records of both donations and donors must be kept under Federal and applicable state law.
• Fogel understood that donor funds given to the NRA and WLF could not be used for “expensive services, lavish gifts, and personal gain.”
• Fogel erroneously assumed that both Schropp and Nyce were as equally committed as she to “to ensuring that the NRA complied with applicable federal and state law with respect to financial management and use of donated funds.”
• That contractor MC500 provided “black car services” to Janet Nyce in violation of NRA policy for which the NRA was charged $150 per hour.
• That contractor MC500 often charged for work that could be done in-house at the NRA and that often was never completed. This included flying Jennifer Bridgeman, the Chief Marketing Officer of MC500, to take minutes at a meeting of the WLF Executive Council at Janet Nyce’s request notwithstanding that NRA staff could complete the same task.
• Fogel reassigned much of this work to NRA staff as a cost saving and efficiency measure cutting out MC500. This led to Janet Nyce calling and shouting at Fogel as Nyce said it was “her prerogative to incur whatever cost she saw fit for the WLF program.”
• Fogel reported this to Schropp along with her cost saving measures and was angrily told “to stay in her lane.”
• After this and other incidents, Schropp and Nyce treated Fogel in such a manner as to create a toxic work environment. Nyce went so far as to convene “a meeting of the WLF staff and leadership at the NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, but excluded Ms. Fogel, the Director of the WLF, from this meeting.
• Fogel was ordered by Susan LaPierre to purchase a “$240 Baccarat crystal butterfly” as a gift to Indiana First Lady Janet Holcombe using her personal credit card. Upon investigation, Fogel determined making such a gift would violate Indiana law regarding the value of gifts. LaPierre was not pleased to be told this. Following this, she was retaliated against by Mrs. LaPierre, Jane Brown, Nyce, and the infamous former intern Megan Allen who had her apartment expenses paid by the NRA.
• Fogel became concerned about a potential security breach involving donors due to a Dropbox maintained by MC500 entitled “WLF Shared Folder” that would allow former NRA employees access. Schropp dismissed her concerns but they were validated by NRA Security Manager Bob Jenkins.
• There was improper and haphazard record keeping when it came to WLF member donations. Often donations would be credited to the wrong person including Janet Nyce.
• Fogel had her probationary period extended another 90 days in retaliation for reporting these issues.
• Finally, two days after she reported the security breach and soon after she had delivered a report on NRA-WLF financial mismanagement to Schropp, Nyce, Brown, and director Barbara Rumpel, she was terminated with no explanation.

Fogel is asking that she be reinstated to her former position or a comparable one, that she be paid $150,000 in compensation for lost wages and benefits, that she be awarded attorney costs, and that applicable interest should be paid on the lost wages. She is also asking for a jury trial.

Fogel has communicated to me that she did not want to bring this lawsuit but was facing the statute of limitations on time to bring the suit. Her hope is that a settlement can be reached.

I have had many conversations with her over the past year regarding the NRA and its issues. I believe what she has alleged in this lawsuit. One need only look at those mentioned in the lawsuit to come to that conclusion. You have Tyler Schropp who used the NRA as his personal piggy bank. You have cabal members Janet Nyce and Barbara Rumpel. You have contractors upset that someone interrupted their gravy train. Finally, you have Susan LaPierre herself. What more needs to be said about the veracity of Fogel’s allegations.

I have tried to summarize the case but read all 40 pages of it. It will both sadden and anger you.