New York State ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Who Filed False Liens Against Government Officials And Banks Sentenced To 5 Years In Federal Prison
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story concludes with a link to an April 27, 2010, story by CourthouseNews.com. At the bottom-left of the CourthouseNews story, readers will find a link to the RICO lawsuit filed by public officials last year against Richard Enrique Ulloa. The document is worth the time to read because it shows how public servants can become targets of spectacularly vexatious litigation that forces them or their employers to hire attorneys, thus burdening judicial resources and potentially driving up costs for taxpayers.
At least part of the bizarre saga of Richard Enrique Ulloa has come to a close: Ulloa, a 52-year-old purported “sovereign citizen” who resided in Stone Ridge, N.Y., was sentenced yesterday to five years in federal prison for mailing “fraudulent liens and judgments to a variety of individuals and financial institutions who had displeased” him, the office of U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian of the Northren District of New York said.
The FBI joined Hartunian’s office in announcing the sentence, which was ordered by U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy after Ulloa asserted various individuals and entities owed him billions of dollars. McAvoy also ordered Ulloa placed on supervised probation for three years after his prison release and to pay $63,401 in restitution.
Ulloa’s bizarre tale touched on multiple courtrooms in multiple jurisdictions. It also involved public officials fighting back against Ulloa by suing him under the federal racketeering statute.
In April 2010, the County of Ulster, N.Y., and the towns of Lloyd, Rosendale and Ulster asserted that Ulloa and others “sent or caused to be sent mailings and/or wires consisting of ‘criminal complaints,’ ‘invoices,’ ‘demands for payment,’ and ‘judgments’ that contained materially false statements,” according to federal records.
Owing to sovereign-inspired hectoring, public officials began to fear for their safety and the town of Rosendale ordered body armor for court officials, according to the Times Herald-Record.
Read an April 2010 story (and see the accompanying court document) on CourthouseNews.com.
I think I see a patter[n] developing… pretend to be a “sovereign citizen” and go to federal prison. I wonder how many years Keny Wayne Leaming will get..
Looks like the gov used a Predator B drone to avoid a Waco/Ruby Ridge style confrontation and arrest a few Sovereign Citizen cattle rustlers. Interesting story.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-drone-arrest-20111211,0,72624,full.story
Interesting article from the LA Times which raises the privacy issues arising out of the use of drones on domestic soil.
They are obviously a great help to legitimate law enforcement, but it will certainly bring up the issues of their potential abuse by the same and by government (including the IRS and US Customs)
Drones are no worse than all of the CCTV cameras both here and in large cities abroad. The UK is famous for them. Most are justified as a way to combat terrorism and criminal behavior. For the most part, they do fairly well.
When you are out in public, you should not have any expectation of privacy. After all, you are out where all can see, including a drone or CCTV camera. If you don’t want to get caught, don’t do anything illegal..
In my view, technology is neutral….it’s the intent of the user that determines whether something is “good or bad”. Drones are no different than computers in that respect.
In this case, the article states that a Sheriff with a legitimate search warrant, signed by a judge, was forcibly barred from serving that warrant. By using the drone, the authorities were able to determine the owners of the farm appeared to be preparing for an armed confrontation later that night and that they appeared to be unarmed the next morning. If drones or other technology are used to avoid confrontation ala Ruby Ridge or Waco, I am all for it, provided the signed warrant process is followed. Random fishing expeditions I have a problem with.
The issue is nicely outlined in the following articles as it involves border security vs. privacy.
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/On-WA-s-border-more-security-tension-since-9-11-2164251.php
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/restlessnative/2016763130_restless14m.html