Barton Buhtz criminal trial

[Demosthenes]

Treasury fraud leads to guilty pleas

Men apparently listened to 'consumer advocate' and his seminar advice

By Sanne Specht
Mail Tribune
October 03, 2007

Two Jackson County men have pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Medford to charges they conspired to pass about $4.3 million in false U.S. Treasury documents in Oregon.

Richard Roy Aquila of Medford and Steven Dale Kelton of Central Point apparently followed the advice of Barton A. Buhtz of Sunland, Calif., a self-styled "consumer advocate" who gave promotional seminars on fraudulent financial practices in Oregon and other states, court records show.

The indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury in September 2005, claims the group used fake checks drawn on nonexistent Treasury accounts to pay property taxes in Jackson and Coos counties, to pay federal income taxes, and to try to buy property, recreational vehicles and other goods and services. The incidents are alleged to have happened between August 2001 and April 2003.

Rebecca Adelle and Steven Douglas Shollenburg of the Bend area also were indicted in the case.

On Monday, before the start of Tuesday's federal trial, Aquila pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and passing fictitious documents. Kelton and Rebecca Shollenburg pleaded guilty to the same charge on Tuesday. Steven Schollenburg and Buhtz remain on trial for their charges, according to court documents.

U.S Attorney William Fitzgerald, who is prosecuting the case, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

One online newsletter advocating Buhtz' work was produced by Eddie Ray Kahn, the Florida man indicted in October 2006 along with actor Wesley Snipes on federal tax avoidance and fraud charges.

A Web site operated by the U.S. Treasury Department, http://www.treasurydirect.gov, outlines the procedure Buhtz advocated — under a heading "Frauds, Phonies and Scams" (type in "scams" in the search field). The Treasury Department explains that in the widespread scheme, people claim that when the United States went off the gold standard in 1933, the federal government went bankrupt. With the help of the Federal Reserve Bank, the government then created value by trading citizens' birth certificates or applications for birth certificates on the open market.

The scammers claim that Social Security numbers are actually numbers of accounts where this value is stored, the Treasury site continues. After filing complicated documents under the Uniform Commercial Code, rules set out to smooth interstate commerce, the scammers falsely claimed that individuals can tap this "fund" by writing bills of exchange. Checks are the most common type of bill of exchange, but other types are used in international trade.

"Drawing such drafts on the U.S. Treasury is fraudulent and a violation of federal law," the Treasury site said. "The theory behind their use is bogus and incomprehensible. The Justice Department is vigorously prosecuting these crimes."

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... is this guy's last name really "Buhtz"?

He must've gotten beaten up in school for that quite a bit...

[grammarian44]

... is this guy's last name really "Buhtz"?

He must've gotten beaten up in school for that quite a bit...

My high school football coach was Coach Dick, and he was usually the one doing the beating.

[wserra]

Verdict late yesterday:

Minutes of Proceedings:Jury Trial day 4 before Judge Owen M. Panner as to Defendants Barton Albert Buhtz and Steven Douglas Shollenburg. Jury continues deliberations; Verdict returned; Jury Finding of Guilty on Counts: 1, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 as to Barton Buhtz; Jury Finding of Not Guilty on Counts: 2, 3, 4 and 8 as to Barton Buhtz; and Counts: 1, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 as to Steven Shollenburg. See Verdict forms; Jury Polled and Discharged; Trial concluded 10/5/2007. Sentencing for Barton Buhtz is set for 12/17/2007 at 10:00AM in Medford before Judge Owen M. Panner. Counsel Present for Plaintiff: William E. Fitzgerald.Counsel Present for Defendant: Lynn Shepard for Barton Buhtz; Richard Fredericks for Steven Shollenburg. (Court Reporter Katherine Shelley) (wk) (Entered: 10/05/2007)

For your information, Count 1 is (as usual) the big kahuna, the conspiracy count. The other counts were all specific instances of passing funny money. Apparently Steven Shollenberg was acquitted on all counts; I don't know enough about the case to comment on the significance of that, other than to point out that he didn't file all the BS that Buhtz did (multiple "Affidavits of Truth", notices of his own hearings, etc).

So, come December 17, the "Sovereign and Secured Aggrieved Party in Fact" is likely to get a little less sovereign and secure, and a little more aggrieved.

[Nikki]

Commentary from the dark (dim?) side:

Damn it! That emphasized that you don't have any remedies or sort of relief even if the law verbalize so.