If you really can't get enough of this guy, Lambkin, you'll love this stuff.
As Lambkin wrote, this was a prosecution for a debt elimination scheme. The full view from
the govt trial memo:
James Chappell Dew Jr., Mark Shannon Manuel, Jerry Elmo Hartsoe and Ronald Kevin Hayes have engaged in an ongoing scheme to mail fictitious financial documents to various banks and lenders around the United States through a company called Eden Gifted Properties (EGP) and Hakunamatata for All. EGP uses sovereign citizen rhetoric and tactics in an effort to convince victims that EGP will be able to eliminate their debt through a series of complicated financial filings and letters. Approximately 260 victims from multiple states have been identified. The following is a summary of the fraud scheme used by the defendants to trick their victims into paying for the bogus debt elimination system.
The defendants rely on a frequently discredited theory called “Redemption.” “Redemption” is a scheme that utilizes commercial law to harass, confuse and slow down its targets. The theory advocates that an individual can “redeem” himself through the filing of commercial documents, typically using Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing statements. The theory further holds that “redemption” allows the person to then access a government financial account with unlimited funds. According to the theory, a person has a split personality, an actual human being and a fictional person called a “strawman.” The “strawman” was created under the erroneous belief that when the United States went off the gold standard in 1933 it pledged its citizens as collateral for the national debt. The theory holds that the real person can “redeem” the fictional “strawman” by filing a UCC financing statement. “Redemption” advocates assert that since the strawman serves as collateral for the national debt, then the “redemption” of their personal strawman allows them to access funds directly from the United States Treasury using the Federal Reserve. Further, proponents of the theory assert that the government only has power over the strawman and not the real person. These individuals also erroneously assert that all conflicts are commercial and private in nature and therefore governed by the UCC. Therefore, they claim that they are not bound by any federal, state, or local law.
Using connections within various religious, social, and political groups, the defendants traveled across the United States on multiple occasions to host seminars and presentations. After identifying potential victims at these seminars and presentations, the defendants would solicit several thousand dollars from their victims under the auspices of “making a donation to EGP.” After being paid by the victims, the defendants would mail a series of bogus documents to banks, lenders and other financial institutions, claiming that the victims’ debt was satisfied based on the redemption theory. In an effort to confuse and slow the debt collection process, EGP would make numerous packet mailings containing copious amounts of documents with legalistic sounding names. The documents included “registered bonded promissory notes” and “money orders” and were crafted in such a way as to make them appear to be capable of drawing funds off the United States Government. These documents were mailed to multiple high ranking executives of the banks and contained nonsensical instructions on how to use the fraudulent bonds to pay the debt of EGP customers. The documents sent by EGP were worthless and did not eliminate any of the victims’ debt. The defendants continued to send these bogus financial instruments through the United States Mail despite receiving numerous letters and warnings from banks and lenders that the documents were fraudulent and worthless. The defendants failed to notify or instruct the victims that EGP’s system did not eliminate any debt. Further, the defendants continued to require and receive monetary payments from the victims, despite knowing that the system did not eliminate any debt. A typical package mailed by EGP contained over 50 fraudulent documents and were mailed multiple times to different financial institutions for each EGP customer. Each package was sent via either certified or registered mail.
The FBI cultivated both a Cooperating Human Source (CHS) and an Undercover Employee (UCE) in the investigation. The CHS attended a Columbia area meeting of the Republic of the united States of America (RuSA). The RuSA is a sovereign citizen organization that does not recognize the authority of the United States Government and adheres to the “redemption” theory. During this meeting, Hartsoe gave an overview of the EGP debt elimination process, including the cost of the service and the location of EGP offices. The UCE then attended an additional private meeting with EGP where the process was pitched by Dew. At the direction of the FBI, the CHS provided Dew with the name and contact information for the FBI UCE. Hartsoe contacted the UCE and began the sales pitch. Hartsoe exchanged numerous telephone calls and had multiple email conversations with the UCE in an effort to recruit him as a customer.
I was going to move the topic, sovrun rumblings notwithstanding, to the Advance Fee Fraud forum until I saw the reference to the RuSA. Go RuSA!
Anyway, Manuel adhered to conventional freeloader process - a taxpayer-paid lawyer - until he got convicted in February. Then he went full-colon -
27 pages of sovrun gibberish. The whole nine yards: he wants everyone's bond; he's entitled to billions in reparations; he's his own "authorized representative"; the District Court is a Delaware corporation; the AUSA, the Court and his own lawyer all committed federal crimes (for which he demands prosecution); and, last but hardly least, the Court has no jurisdiction over him, a matter on which he demands an "immediate hearing".
Judge Currie has accommodated Manuel by setting a hearing for April 17. Following the verdict, he had left Manuel free on bond pending sentence. I wonder if that will continue, now that Manuel refuses to recognize the Court's authority?
I know what I'd do.
