Far-right couple accused of looting nonprofit to fund lavish castle life

New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against the anti-immigration group VDARE, saying that the couple who ran the group used donations to fund a medieval-style castle in West Virginia and then moved into it.

Peter and Lydia Brimelow, known for being long-time immigration foes, have "become a bridge between mainstream Republicans and the more overtly racist elements of the far right," wrote New York Times reporters David A. Fahrenthold and Alan Feuer.

The lawsuit is part of James’s ongoing efforts to regulate and hold nonprofits accountable in New York and comes amid her prominent record of taking on controversial organizations, including the Trump Organization and the National Rifle Association.

The core of the lawsuit alleges that the Brimelows used over $1 million of donor money not just for luxury expenditures and overseas travel, but for renovating and maintaining an extravagant castle purchased as a private residence, as well as club memberships and payments benefiting themselves and their family.

James’s office emphasized that charities are meant "to serve the public good," not fund lavish lifestyles for their leaders. She is seeking a court order to compel the Brimelows to repay the alleged misappropriated funds, impose additional penalties, shutter VDARE, and redistribute any remaining assets to other reputable charities. James called the charity a "personal piggy bank" for the couple.

The "castle" is a whopping 9,300 square feet in the resort town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, according to a Redfin listing. It was built in the 1880s and features a turret and battlements. The Brimelows didn't ask the group's board for permission to live in the home, James's suit said.

Her court filing asks the judge to force repayment of the funds, plus penalties, and to dissolve the organization, giving any assets to legitimate charities.

The group is named after a white supremacist icon, Virginia Dare, who was purportedly the first white person born in the United States to English settlers.

VDARE has already been sued by James once in 2022, as part of her investigation.

"A state judge later found the nonprofit in contempt of court because of its slow cooperation, imposing tens of thousands of dollars in penalties that Ms. James said the group had not paid," said the Times.

Brimelow announced in a video in July 2024 that he was closing VDARE, blaming James.

“VDARE has been murdered by the New York state attorney general, Letitia James,” he claimed. “She’s not charged us with anything — it’s important to know. She’s simply battered us to death with an enormous, ongoing, intrusive, quote-unquote investigation."

Read the full report here.