David Russell Myrland, the Washington state “sovereign citizen” ordered in December 2011 to spend 40 months in federal prison for threatening the mayor of Kirkland and other public officials, has filed a lawsuit against federal prosecutors in Seattle that alleges (apparently) that law enforcement engaged in a grammar conspiracy against him.
Myrland’s 28-page complaint (including purported exhibits) formally was filed Jan. 23. Information within the complaint suggests Myrland began working on the document only days after his prison sentence was handed down Dec. 2. He is listed as an inmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago.
MCC houses prisoners of all security levels, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
While apparently alleging a grammar conspiracy by government officials contributed to his legal problems in a threats case, David Russell Myrland may be demonstrating his own lack of command over language skills.
“Sovereign citizens” are known to file all sorts of wild documents, but Myrland’s grammar lawsuit may set a new standard for the absurd. The document appears to parse virtually every word of a criminal complaint filed against him in the threats case by a special agent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
It does the same thing with Myrland’s plea agreement in the case.
Both documents purport to break down individual words into their individual parts of speech, but the complaint suggests Myrland himself may suffer from grammar confusion. The word “mayor,” for instance, is declared an adjective under the interpretation “key” Myrland included in the complaint.
“Mayor” is actually a noun.
Myrland also declares the word “the” an adverb under his numbering system. “The” is actually a definite article. Mistakes involving other words pepper the complaint.
Seattle Weekly reported that the office of U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan declined comment on Myrland’s complaint, “except to say he could face civil sanctions for filing a frivolous lawsuit. “
“WE NEED INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE PARTNERS: #1 must have minimum $25,000 deposit. #2 must have a good name in the country. #3 must be very honest and trustworthy. If you know of such a person in your country have them send a request to [deleted]@textcashnetwork.com.” — Feb. 13, 2012, Blog promo for Text Cash Network
From a TCN Blog promo on Feb. 13, 2012.
UPDATED 12:07 A.M. ET (FEB. 16, USA.)
Following a previous pattern of scams linked to MLM huckster Phil Piccolo, the purported Text Cash Network (TCN) text-advertising “opportunity” now is fishing for great sums of cash, according to affiliate Blog posts that appear not to even to question the offer.
The posts appear to be based on an email affiliates received from TCN , with affiliates simply copying and pasting the content on Blogs.
TCN, according to the posts, is seeking “INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE PARTNERS” willing to plunk down a “minimum $25,000 deposit.” The posts are tied to a purported TCN celebration for being in business for 100 days.
The promos also are hyping something called the “VIP Plus Advertising Package,” which purportedly will debut March 16 at a cost of “$499 + $60 Monthly x 11 Months with 100% of the additional funds going to the VIP Plus Agents.”
Some TCN affiliates are simultaneously encouraging recruits and prospects to send money to TCN via Western Union to buy in as TCN distributors at levels between $129 and $399. Such tactics have been associated with advance-fee scams and other forms of fraud.
“Western Union will allow you to put it on your credit card!” one TCN affiliate promo roars. “Call Western Union for details.”
In November 2010, a Piccolo-associated entity known as One World One Website (OWOW) solicited members to send in cash amid promises the contributions would earn “24% Annual Interest.” The offer led to questions about whether OWOW, which is listed as a defunct Wyoming corporation while it maintains websites that are unable to process payments, was selling unregistered securities as investment contracts.
“The 24% Annual Interest On Your Money … Did you know that many PROS are receiving 24% Annual Interest on their money. The deadline for 24% annual interest paid in monthly increments of 2% will end on 11/30/2010 . . . Any funds deposited thereafter will pay 18% annual interest in monthly increments of 1.5%,” the Nov. 18, 2010, OWOW email read in part.
In July 2010, Data Network Affiliates — another venture associated with Piccolo — said it was offering an offshore “resorts” program through a vendor. Members could buy into the purported program through a “No Interest Easy 24 Month” payment plan of of $625 a month. DNA solicited members to spend $14,995 on the resorts program, suggesting that some prospects would put the entire amount on a credit card.
Like the current TCN invitation soliciting deposits of $25,000, the OWOW email from November 2010 included an email address. Prospects with access to cash were encouraged to use the address to contact the company to discuss the offer.
Recent scams with which Piccolo has been involved — including OWOW and DNA — have featured Piccolo as a background player. Other individuals emerged as the faces of the company.
TCN has ducked questions about Piccolo. The firm lists Brett Hudson as its president. Both TCN and DNA operate in the region of Boca Raton, Fla.
DNA’s former CEO resigned within a matter of weeks in early 2010, saying that various email missives from the company were “bull” from a “backdoor guy.” Both TCN and DNA purport to operate “processing centers” in Boca Raton.
DNA’s corporate registration is listed in Nevada as dissolved. Like OWOW, Text Cash Network filed corporate paperwork in Wyoming. OWOW’s registration is listed as “delinquent” and “Inactive – Administratively Dissolved (Tax).”
OWOW effectively died in November 2011, the same month TCN was born in Wyoming, according to records. OWOW got a 10-day head start on other TCN affiliates in early November, according to web promos that explained OWOW was helping TCN test its system.
Why TCN would choose OWOW as a key, early business partner is unclear.
Another common thread among TCN, DNA and OWOW is the presence of Piccolo business associate and MLM huckster Joe Reid. TCN has accented the purported “tax” benefits of joining, something DNA also did.
BULLETIN: David Carroll Stephenson, an alleged business associate of AdSurfDaily figure and purported “sovereign citizen” Kenneth Wayne Leaming, has been moved from a federal prison in Arizona to the SeaTac federal detention center near Seattle to answer charges that he conspired with Leaming to file false liens against two Federal Bureau of Prisons officials.
Leaming, 56, remains in federal custody at SeaTac. In addition to charges that he worked with Stephenson to file bogus liens totaling $30 million against Harley Lappin and Dennis R. Smith, Leaming is accused of filing false liens against at least five public officials involved in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi case. He’s also charged with harboring two federal fugitives from Arkansas at his residence in Spanaway, Wash., being a felon in possession of firearms and uttering a bogus “Bonded Promissory Note” with a purported face value of $1 million.
Lappin is the former director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Smith is the warden of the Federal Correctional Institution in Phoenix. Stephenson and Leaming divined a construction by which Lappin owed Stephenson $10 million and Smith owed him $20 million, the FBI said in court documents filed in November 2011.
Some of the firms with which American-International had a business relationship formed their names with words typically associated with government or banking. One was called “Homeland Security Service,” for instance. Another was called “Presidential Detail.” Yet another was called “Federal Asset Management Service.” Still another was called “Federal Fleet Management,” according to records.
Stephenson, 56, was serving a 96-month prison sentence (ending in January 2013) for defrauding the United States in a tax scam during the time in which he plotted with Leaming last year to carry out the fraud against Lappin and Smith, the FBI said.
An FBI affidavit filed in November alleges that Leaming was conducting research on the real estate holdings and personal finances of U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts and his wife and discussed a scheme to serve Stephenson-related documents on Roberts through the school his children attended.
Robert’s is chief judge of the U.S. Supreme Court and America’s highest-ranking judicial officer. He is one of nine members of the Supreme Court.
Other Leaming email correspondence cited by the FBI suggests he sent a “certified,” Stephenson-related letter to the personal residence of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and was trying to find a home address for Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer — instead of sending Stephenson-related correspondence to the Supreme Court address.
Like Roberts, Ginsburg and Breyer are members of the Supreme Court.
Breyer’s name was in the news yesterday, amid reports that he was robbed while vacationing with his wife and several friends in Nevis last week by a masked intruder wielding a machete. The Supreme Court is on break. There were no reports that anyone was injured in the Nevis incident, but the robber allegedly got away with $1,000.
The email was attributed to “Keny,” a nickname used by Leaming.
Court records suggest Leaming was under FBI surveillance when the email was sent. He was arrested by an FBI terrorism task force about seven weeks later.
In court filings in the original liens case against Leaming in November, the FBI said “one of the specific documents” found in Washington state sought the staggering sum of $225.4 billion and listed “Kenneth Wayne, sovereign man” as “grantee,” and public officials as “grantors.”
Bogus liens against Mary Peters, the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and Cutler Dawson, president and CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union, also were discovered, according to court filings.
Leaming was arrested on the liens charges via a criminal complaint filed in November. The firearms, fugitive-harboring and false-utterance charges were added in a superseding grand-jury indictment returned on Jan. 26.
The two fugitives Leaming allegedly harbored were implicated in an Arkansas-based, home-business scam that fetched more than $2 million, according to court records. Meanwhile, the ASD Ponzi scheme fetched at least $110 million, federal prosecutors said.
Timothy Shawn Donavan, 63, and Sharon Jeannette Henningsen, 67 — the fugitives allegedly found with Leaming — both are listed as federal detainees at facilities in Texas. They initially were jailed at SeaTac in Washington state, but made bond after their November arrests and returned to Arkansas, according to federal records.
Bizarre pleadings laced with language associated with “sovereign citizens” soon began to appear in their Arkansas proceedings. Donavan’s bond was revoked after he refused to be sworn as a witness at a pretrial proceeding in Arkansas, according to records. He is jailed at a federal facility in Texas.
Henningsen currently is in federal custody at a Texas facility that provides specialized medical care and mental-health services, according to records.
Andy Bowdoin, the 77-year-old alleged operator of the ASD Ponzi scheme, is awaiting his September 2012 federal criminal trial on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities.
