Polygamous leader hopes to get out jail on fraud charges

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Attorneys for high-ranking polygamous leader Lyle Jeffs will try to persuade a judge Wednesday to let him out of jail pending trial on accusations he helped orchestrate a multi-million dollar food stamp fraud scheme.

Jeffs, who runs the day-to-day operations of the polygamous sect on the Utah-Arizona border, is the last remaining suspect still behind bars among 11 people indicted on allegations of diverting at least $12 million worth of federal benefits.

Prosecutors argue Jeffs blindly follows orders from his brother, imprisoned sect leader Warren Jeffs, and could use aliases, disguises, secret rooms, bunkers and weapons to elude authorities.

The volume of food stamp purchases at two small convenience stores in the community was so large that it rivaled retailers the size of Wal-Mart and Costco, prosecutors say, with the total amount diverted and laundered estimated at $12 million.