UPDATE: Sham ‘Attorney General’ In ‘Indian’ Case Sought $1.7 TRILLION From SEC; Wikipedia Says He Was Jailed In Nevada For ‘Attempted Murder,’ Other Charges

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an update to supplement a story about bizarre securities litigation that has occurred recently. (Updated 9:10 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.)

Think the $250 million judgment sought against a public servant by a sham “sovereign” Utah “Indian” tribe to which AdSurfDaily mainstay Curtis Richmond belonged was bizarre and extreme?

It turns out to have been a drop in the bucket compared to the $1.7 trillion sought by the bogus “attorney general” of an unrecognized North Dakota tribe. Michael Howard Reed, who is not an attorney but purported to hold the title of “attorney general,” sought the award after the Securities and Exchange Commission sued purported tribal members for running a $29 million Ponzi scheme from Nevada.

The sought-after amount of $1.7 trillion would have exceeded the total of federal income tax paid by individual U.S. filers last year by about $575 billion.

A federal judge was not pleased by the gamesmanship in the securities-fraud case against Gold Quest International, which purported to be registered in Panama but was operating the alleged Ponzi scheme from Las Vegas while claiming immunity from U.S. law.

U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson struck a series of pleadings by Reed from the record.

Meanwhile, Dawson jailed John Jenkins, one of the defendants implicated in the Ponzi scheme, for contempt.

Dawson also dispatched the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest David Greene, also known as “Lord David Greene,” in part for violating orders to repatriate money offshore to the United States.

All of this took place only weeks before the U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars from Florida-based ASD, itself accused of operating a Ponzi scheme and selling unregistered securities.

Wikipedia says Reed was jailed in Nevada on charges of attempted murder, although no details were provided in the entry. (UPDATE Jan. 21, 2010: This Wikipedia entry appears to have been disputed, with the reference to Reed and the purported attempted-murder charge removed.)

Richmond entered the ASD fray in November. By early February, he was filing pro se motions suggesting ASD members intended to pursue claims of $120 million against the prosecutors, a judge and a court clerk.

By late February, ASD President Andy Bowdoin himself was filing pro se motions, acknowledging ASD had been operating illegally but claiming he’d been denied “fair notice” his conduct was illegal.

Bowdoin’s actions coincided with an announcement by the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf that it was shifting to an “association” structure.” Such structures sometimes are associated with tax schemes.

AVG introduced members to Pro Advocate Group, which is associated with Karl Dahlstrom. Dahlstrom was convicted in a securities scheme in the 1990s and sentenced to 78 months in federal prison.

The Utah “Indian” tribe to which Richmond belonged was ruled a “complete sham” by a federal judge last year. Meantime, the North Dakota tribe to which the GQI defendants purportedly belonged is not recognized by the federal government. There is substantial securities litigation against GQI in Canada, as well.

See story on $1.7 trillion filing in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

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18 Responses to “UPDATE: Sham ‘Attorney General’ In ‘Indian’ Case Sought $1.7 TRILLION From SEC; Wikipedia Says He Was Jailed In Nevada For ‘Attempted Murder,’ Other Charges”

  1. Michael Howard Reed, who is not an attorney but purported to hold the title of “attorney general,”

    He was suspended in 2006:
    http://www.officialpnlsbna.org/notice1.html

  2. I thought I knew quite a bit about Michael Howard Reed, but this report of him being in prison related to murder charges is new to me. Unless it relates to the Jan Lindsey and Shawn Rice bomb arrests, perhaps? Or to deaths from crystal meth produced by the Little Shell Band’s labs… Reed did try to interfere in that drug trial a few months past.

  3. Hi Professor,

    The AP reported in May that his name was spoken in a menacing phone call to a federal judge in a methamphetamimes case that was set for trial:

    http://kxnet.com/t/turtle-mountain/372900.asp

    The Wikapedia entry noting the attempted murder charge does not list a source for the claim, and the context of the purported filing of the charge is unclear.

    Regards,

    Patrick

  4. People should note that the Little Shell tribe is legitimate and has membership in the thousands, but is not recognized as a tribe by the U.S. Government. The extremists have appropriated the name for their own purposes. The are several competing bands of Little Shell Sovereign nations.

    Many of these extremist groups are linked. At a certain point, the founders get frustrated by the system and opt out. Then they prey on like minded or frustrated people.

    Gordon Kahl of the Posse Comitatus pops up again.

    http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/little_shell.asp?learn_cat=extremism&learn_subcat=extremism_in_america&xpicked=3&item=little_shell

    At some point during these unsuccessful legal battles, Delorme transformed the Little Shell Band into a sovereign citizen group. Its ideology was not new to the region: sovereign citizens had been active in North Dakota, where Delorme and his extended family lived, dating back to the 1980s, when Posse Comitatus leader Gordon Kahl ambushed and killed two federal marshals in Medina in 1983.

    Here’s an excerpt from the Little Shell Nation application for citizenship.

    http://commonrights.net/FORMULARIO_EN_BLANCO.pdf

    If your application is approved, you will be scheduled for a public oath ceremony at which time you will be required to take the following oath of allegiance immediately prior to becoming a naturalized citizen. By signing, you acknowledge your willingness and ability to take this oath:

    “I hereby declare, an oath, that I absolutely and entirely with full knowledge do hereby renounce and abjure this day all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject, citizen or member thereof; that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution and Laws of the Little Shell Nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic;

    that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;

    that I will bear arms on behalf of the Little Shell Nation when required by the law;

    that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the Little Shell Nation when required by the law;

    that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and

    that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion having done my individual due diligence regarding this oath, so help me Great Spirit”.

    LITTLE SHELL NATION APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION
    NON-LINEAL APPLICATION
    Page 15

  5. There are just so many layers. Here is one — the Feds’ announcement of an indictment against a FLORIDA man who was selling Pembina Nation Little Shell Tribe memberships for $1,500 and $2,000.

    http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/080829-02.html

    There also are elements of cash-gifting scams in these elaborate mazes.

    Patrick

  6. Patrick, as Chief of the Wobbly Legged, I would like to offer you the position of Director of Smoke Signals and Other Forms of Communication, with all the powers and privileges bestowed to that great and powerful office. Of course, your salary will be commensurate with your vociferousness. You may choose your own headdress and loincloth. Tomahawks optional.

    Chief Don of the Wobbly Legged (BYOB)

  7. Patrick, Chief of the Gibber, I offer you the position of Director of Communications. I assume you speak our language. You get no salary. The prestige of this position is good enough for you.

    Layers? Just like Shrek? “Onions have layers, Ogre’s have layers”.

  8. It’s ok Patrick, I am sure they’ll let you hold dual nationality, so can join both and avoid an intertribal war. lol

  9. I will not share with another tribe which lacks my arrogance!

    alasycia: It’s ok Patrick, I am sure they’ll let you hold dual nationality, so can join both and avoid an intertribal war. lol

  10. DB, may the Great Spirits (Bourbon and Gin) cause you to have horrendous headaches following their consumption. The winds and waters of bodily functions will bring shame to you and those nearby. A thousand horse flies will fly above you and spell out naughty words.

    The Chief of the Wobbly Legged Tribe has spoken.

  11. Patrick, just choose the one with the biggest tepee. lol

  12. Oh, and you now owe my a $25.9 squidzillion dollars!!!

  13. You summon inferior spirits. The spirits of the working class. Nothing less than Louis XIII cognac for my tribal elders.

    My peepee, um, tepee is bigger.

    Ok, enough of THIS non-sense. I have other non-sense to attend to.

    Don – Chief of the Wobbly Legged Tribe: DB, may the Great Spirits (Bourbon and Gin) cause you to have horrendous headaches following their consumption. The winds and waters of bodily functions will bring shame to you and those nearby. A thousand horse flies will fly above you and spell out naughty words.The Chief of the Wobbly Legged Tribe has spoken.

  14. You guys are hacks.

  15. Native Indian Proverb:

    He with Bulging Gut must abstain from Fire Water and walk with stealth in the forest that his girth summons not his enemies through his audibility.

  16. As Chief Eagle of the Eagle Tribe of Shutthescammersdown, I make Patrick our Chief Scribe and Communicator. Besides, he would rather soar with Eagles, than hang around with lesser tribes. Chief Eagle has spoken.

  17. Because “The http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_Shell_Band_of_Chippewa_Indians&oldid=308234294 entry noting the attempted murder charge does not list a source for the claim,” ********************************the above should not have been posted. Your abilities as a journalist that publishes correct information is questionable. Note: The Michael Reed you mentioned Patrick, and http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_Shell_Band_of_Chippewa_Indians&oldid=308234294 published the article about is……..
    black………………………………….. ” Your assignment for this week is finding the facts on this stated truth. I am Red and Right.

  18. […] in 2008, the SEC was conducting a Ponzi scheme investigation into a separate company known as Gold Quest International (GQI), which used E-Bullion and claimed to be registered in […]