A man responsible for the Arizona sweat lodge deaths in 2009 settled civil lawsuits made by the families of the three deceased people, according to court documents obtained Friday by the Associated Press.
The families of Kirby Brown, 38, James Shore, 40, and Liz Neuman, 49, sued self-help author James Arthur Ray after the October 2009 ceremony near Sedona, according to the Associated Press. The lawsuits accused Ray and his company of negligence, fraud and wrongful death.
Brown's parents received nearly $860,000, $1.38 million went to Shore's family, and Neuman's family got more than $1 million in the settlement, according to Fox News. The money was provided by Ray's insurers.
Self-help author James Arthur Ray began serving a two-year sentence last month for the negligent homicide convictions, the Associated Press reports. The lawsuit settlements included no admission of guilt on Ray's behalf.
Members of the American Indian community attended the trial in silent protest of Ray's negligent use of their sacred tradition, according to the Associated Press.
Ivan Lewis of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation said Ray took advantage of their ceremony, which involves stones heated outside the lodge, brought in and placed in a pit, the Associated Press reports. Though the lodges are meant for no more than a dozen people, Ray crammed in more than 50.
"He desecrated our ceremony, he abused it," Lewis told the Associated Press Wednesday. "He used it in any way that he could just to get his money. He was told before not to do that, and he's paying for it now."
