DIALING UP THE BIZARRE: Prisoner Who Reportedly Once Stole Tractor-Trailer Full Of ‘Canned Beans’ And Later Followed ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Bleatings Convicted Of Running Tax Scam From Jail
This one is almost indescribably bizarre . . .
Ronald Williams, 48, was an inmate in various prisons in New York state between 2006 and 2010, federal prosecutors said.
His mother told the Syracuse Post-Standard that her son was jailed in 2006 on charges of stealing a tractor-trailer full of “canned beans” off a street in Buffalo.
While incarcerated, Williams got the not-so-bright idea of filing false tax returns from prison, apparently after being influenced by a purported “sovereign citizen” website article attributed in part to “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the newspaper reported.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, of course, is a fictional character from the Star Wars franchise.
Federal prosecutors now say Williams filed 11 false returns from prison, and assisted another prisoner in filing a bogus return.
In one instance, prosecutors said, Williams managed to dupe the IRS into sending him a refund of $327,456.04 to his prison address. The check was intercepted by the prison and returned to the IRS.
Williams, who “never actually received any monies,” also engaged in redemption scams in which he fabricated “withholdings on numerous Forms 1099-OID by claiming false withholding credits,” prosecutors said. “The eleven returns were for payment of refunds of taxes totaling $890,000,000.”
(See a PP Blog story about a different redemption scam, this one operating from Washington state and allegedly involving purported “sovereign citizen” John Lloyd Kirk, who once was imprisoned for possessing a pipe bomb.)
A jury convicted Williams last week on all 12 counts filed against him, the office of U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian of the Northern District of New York said.
“The object of these schemes is to defraud the government and the taxpaying public,” said Victor W. Lessoff, acting special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigations Unit. “Although a check was computer generated in this case, immediate action was taken as soon as it was identified by IRS Criminal Investigation and those involved in this scheme were vigorously prosecuted.”
What is even more amazing is they thought they could get away with it, while in prison! It’s not like they could flee the jurisdiction. That people could believe the “sovereign” garbage is a stark reminder of the decline in personal intelligence. And they say the problem is the government, when it’s actually them and their half-baked “common law”.
There are things that the Yanks can do better than anyone else.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16801635
Man admits ‘biggest Ponzi fraud in the UK’
I know it’s not in the same league as a trailer of beans, and getting tax advise from a Jedi. But there’s always David Icke.
I appreciate the laugh, Tony. :-)
I’m wondering: Is there a conspiracy theory in which Icke hasn’t invested — or is it just assumed nowadays that, where there’s a conspiracy theory, Icke is somewhere nearby.
You’ll recall, of course, that one of Phil Piccolo’s apologists served up a heaping helping of the bizarre here while Phil was piloting the DNA and OWOW scams:
See story and Comments thread if you’re up for a trip down Memory Lane:
https://patrickpretty.com/2010/11/29/owow-defender-and-phil-piccolo-apologist-demands-to-know-if-pp-blog-is-israeli-says-blog-spreads-islamophobia-and-that-terror-scares-are-fake-suggests-cover-up-followed-911-attacks/comment-page-1/#comment-14032
Also see:
https://patrickpretty.com/2010/11/21/egg-themed-domains-used-to-promote-hyips-that-flushed-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-go-missing-plus-an-update-on-data-network-affiliates-amid-suggestion-thyroid-cancer-sufferers-can-benefit-from/
Both of these were before Piccolo surfaced with Text Cash Network.
Patrick
Tony must not know what a trailer full of beans can get on the black market!!
Maybe we can set up a “Beano” concession in that town…!
Would it be safe to say that Ronald isn’t worth a Hill of Beans?
Maybe I should have said, “Amount to a hill of beans.”
[…] There have been uber bizarre cases involving “sovereign citizens” in New York, including one in which an individual who once reportedly stole a tractor trailer full of “canned beans” was convicted of running a tax scam from jail after being influenced by a purported “sovereign citizen” website article attributed in part to “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” […]