The founder of a firearms training facility in Nevada has agreed to an $8 million settlement of a class action that alleged his “Disneyland for Gun Lovers” was a “Ponzi” scheme to raise money for his own personal use.

Dr. Ignatius Piazza, a chiropractor by trade, sold lifetime memberships in the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute for up to $300,000 to finance his grand vision for developing 550 acres of Pahrump, Nev., desert as a master-planned, Second Amendment community. The project called for nine firing ranges, a school and 177 one-acre luxury home sites.

But three members alleged in a complaint filed in November 2005 that Piazza was not exactly a straight shooter, accusing him of, among other things, misrepresenting the value of memberships, failing to provide infrastructure for the home sites, and diverting money “for his own personal use and benefit, including his Hollywood career.”

One of the lead plaintiffs, William Haag, paid $175,000 for a “platinum” membership that included an ownership interest in a home site. But not a single home has been built on the Front Sight property.

As part of a settlement agreement filed Jan. 2, anyone who purchased a lifetime membership since Front Sight opened in 1997 until last September is eligible to make a claim on the $8 million settlement fund –- a potential class of some 4,200 people.

Piazza, who also agreed to pay up to $800,000 in plaintiffs attorney's fees, admitted no wrongdoing and will continue as Front Sight's front man. The intention of the plaintiffs, explains their lead attorney, was never to drive him out of business.

“We want to make sure Front Sight lives up to its promises to provide a world-class facility and that it's a viable operation,” C. Keith Greer (Greer & Associates, San Diego) tells On Point.

The money for the settlement should come from the pending sale of the Front Sight property to a residential developer. Piazza is planning to build a new facility in the Pahrump area to replace the current one.

It might appear to some that the settlement has not changed very much and left the fox guarding the henhouse. But Greer believes the class action litigation has taught Piazza some hard business lessons.

“I don't think he wants to go through this again,” he says. “He's got a good customer base, a good concept and we think he can make it work.”

“Front Sight Challenge,” a reality TV show pitting ordinary gun lovers against police and military personnel in shooting competitions, is scheduled to premiere Jan. 5 on the Versus Channel. Piazza's challenge may be to finally get Front Sight on target.

By Matthew Heller
1/4/07