A life of crime in a polygamous sect, as told by its exiles
By NATE CARLISLE | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 14 minutes ago • Updated 1 minute ago
On Oct.15, Charlene Jeffs was worried her estranged husband would take their two youngest children to his ranch in South America, she told a Washington County Sheriff's detective.
Others in the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints did not know that Lyle Jeffs, who for years has run the day-to-day operations of the sect for his imprisoned brother Warren Jeffs, had such a ranch, Charlene told the detective. But Charlene was able to describe it to agents and tell them how Lyle used the fire department in Hildale to create false IDs, which she feared could be used by her husband to steal her children.
"This process has been used by several individuals with the Short Creek community to get false identification at the direction of the FLDS leadership," notes of Charlene's interview say.
That information will be used against Lyle next month when federal prosecutors argue that Lyle should remain in jail while he awaits trial on charges he conspired to defraud the federal food stamp program ...
http://www.sltrib.com/home/3576812-155/a-life-of-crime-in-a