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Tag: Kenneth Wayne Leaming

  • PRONOUN MYSTERY: ‘We Plan To Go After Akerman [Senterfitt] Next,’ AdSurfDaily Member Writes; No Immediate Comment From Law Firm That Represented Andy Bowdoin

    Andy Bowdoin

    UPDATED 3:59 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) An email attributed to an AdSurfDaily member claims “We are now playing offense” and “We plan to go after Akerman Senifit (sic) next.”

    Why the pronoun “we” was used was not immediately clear. Also unclear is why Akerman Senterfitt has been identified as a prospective target of litigation and what, precisely, constituted “offense” on the part of the unidentified “we.”

    Akerman Senterfitt is the Florida-based law firm that represented ASD President Andy Bowdoin in the immediate aftermath of the August 2008 federal seizure of tens of millions of dollars from Bowdoin’s personal bank accounts by the U.S. Secret Service. The initial forfeiture case — and a subsequent forfeiture case brought by federal prosecutors in December 2008 — were filed as civil actions. ASD lost the cases in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and in the U.S. Court of Appeals — long after Akerman Senterfitt withdrew as counsel to Bowdoin and ASD.

    Charles A. Murray was Bowdoin’s counsel of record when final orders of forfeiture were issued against proceeds seized from Bowdoin and when both appeals were decided against Bowdoin, who once claimed as a pro se litigant that he’d been denied “fair notice” of illegal conduct.

    The email, which was attributed to ASD member Todd Disner, did not explain who comprised “we.” Nor did it explain how and why an apparent group of ASD members intended to “go after” the firm, Florida’s largest and one of America’s largest.

    Akerman Senterfitt appears only to have represented Bowdoin and former ASD Chief Executive Officer Juan Fernandez in the August 2008 civil case. There is no record of the firm filing an appearance notice for individual ASD members on the docket of the case, giving rise to questions about how individual ASD members ever could succeed in a bid to sue a law firm that never represented them. In the earliest days of the litigation, some ASD members compared the legal skills of the firm in its representation of Bowdoin and ASD to those of “Perry Mason” — while at once describing a government attorney as a bumbling, hapless “Gomer Pyle.”

    After a key court ruling went against Bowdoin and ASD in November 2008, some ASD members backed away from their earlier “Perry Mason” boast and blamed Akerman Senterfitt for Bowdoin’s legal troubles. The record of the case, however, shows that the government used ASD’s own words against it at an evidentiary hearing conducted in the fall of 2008 at Bowdoin’s request.

    A voicemail message left by the PP Blog for comment at Akerman Senterfitt in Miami was not immediately returned. Bowdoin fired the firm without notice in 2009, according to court records.

    On Jan. 13, 2009, with Akerman Senterfitt as counsel, Bowdoin submitted to the August 2008 forfeiture “with prejudice” and “consent[ed] to the forfeiture of the properties.” More than a month later — on Feb. 27, 2009 — Bowdoin filed a pro se pleading styled “NOTICE of Rescission and Withdrawal of Release of Claims to Seized Property and Consent to Forfeiture.”

    In April 2009, Akerman Senterfitt advised U.S. District Justice Rosemary Collyer that Bowdoin and ASD “have decided to represent themselves without consulting their counsel.

    “By way of example only,” the firm advised Collyer, “Mr. Bowdoin has recently filed, on a pro se basis, a series of motions. Mr. Bowdoin filed these motions without consulting with counsel and without bothering to advise counsel that he would be submitting motions on his own. Under these circumstances, the Akerman Senterfitt Law Firm cannot render effective assistance of counsel.”

    The firm, which was still Bowdoin’s counsel of record when he began to file freelance motions, asked for leave to withdraw from the case, explaining that its representation had become “unreasonably difficult.”

    Collyer released Akerman Senterfitt from the case on April 15, 2009.

    By the close of April 2009 — in response to one of several pro se pleadings by Bowdoin — prosecutors advised Collyer that he had signed a proffer letter in the case and acknowledged that the government’s material allegations were all true.

    Bowdoin himself later acknowledged that he had met with prosecutors over a period of at least four days in December 2008 and January 2009 and had provided information against his interests.

    Neither Bowdoin nor the government has said whether Bowdoin had provided information against the interests of others. Bowdoin claimed in September 2009 that he had been “hoodwinked” into releasing his claims and cooperating with prosecutors by Steven Dobson, a criminal attorney recommended by Akerman Senterfitt.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously rejected Bowdoin’s hoodwinking claim in March 2011.

    There was no basis “to conclude that appellants were somehow tricked into releasing their claims,” the panel ruled. “Despite Bowdoin’s protests to the contrary, his own affidavit shows that he understood well that he was receiving no promise in return for relinquishing his claims.”

    In his own court filings, Bowdoin acknowledged that his decision to withdraw his claims to $65.8 million seized by the Secret Service was made because of a “possibility” that he could avoid a jail term.

    These are among the phrases to which Bowdoin swore on Sept. 15, 2009:

    • Dobson represented to me that I could possibly avoid prison or get a reduced sentence if I agreed to disclose details concerning ASD and releasing the assets.
    • I also signed a document stating that I would release my claims in the abovecaptioned civil in rem forfeiture proceeding, again thinking that necessary for a possible avoidance of a prison term.
    • I did all of this on the understanding that by cooperating I could possibly avoid a prison sentence.
    • I agreed not to exercise my rights in the civil forfeiture proceeding, anticipating from representations made by Dobson that this could possibly keep me out of prison.
    • Dobson lead [sic] me to believe that if I cooperated there was a possibility that I would not be incarcerated or imprisoned.
    • I believed that my cooperation would still result in a criminal sentence that could possibly not include imprisonment or incarceration.
    • I slowly came to understand what I understood from Dobson not to be the case: that my agreement to cooperate provided me no benefit in the criminal matter except the possibility of a reduced sentence if the judge desired which would still be a life sentence.

    New Email Circulating Among ASD Members

    Here, verbatim, is a new email circulating among ASD members. The email was attributed to Todd Disner. Disner, like Bowdoin, is among dozens of litigants who filed pro se pleadings in the civil portion of the case. (Italics added.)

    Hi folks,

    I talked to Andy the other day. He was in Atlanta airport coming home from his hearing in Washington .
    He said the government gave his attorney 10 discs full of files .
    The judge gave his attorney only 90 days to review all the documents .
    This was not fair but this is what the judge determined .

    But what was really interesting was when he told me that the
    prosecution was very proud of 11,000 affidavits they received from us through Rust
    Incorporated. .

    They “think” that they have evidence that now ASD was an investment.

    Of course we knew that that was a trap to get unsuspecting and desperate
    people to sign just about anything in an effort to get their money back .
    (My question is where of the other 107,000 people who did NOT sign the
    affidavit?)

    I’m sure that Andy’s attorney will speak to the coercive nature used to created that questionable evidence. To me it appears more and more that our
    government is operating with malice in this case. I think that will be apparent
    to any jury.

    Andy’s attorney is filing a motion to REDO the affidavit, This is a powerful attempt to get our money back by asking the court to make the government issue a “reasonable” form; one that does not make us perjure ourselves in an effort to recover what is rightfully OURS.

    Remember when we enrolled in ASD, we signed the “Term and Conditions” explicitly stating the ASD was NOT AN INVESTMENT. The existing form make liars out of us, one way or the other.

    Andy was in good spirits and very confident about his case .
    Dwight helped him get money back from his second attorney .
    This is a story in itself. Its shows the way Andy has been treated
    by his previous attorneys.

    We plan to go after Akerman Senifit next. (Andy’s first attorneys)

    It is a tragedy how the government must stoop to such tactics in
    order to prove their case against Andy and ASD.

    We are now playing “offense” and will see what happens.

    Keep your spirits up and try to help the cause.

    Best Regards,

    Todd Disner
    [Phone number deleted by PP Blog]

    Rust Consulting Inc. is the government-approved claims processor for victims of the alleged ASD fraud. ASD members who certify themselves crime victims through a process known as remission may be eligible to receive compensation through seized proceeds. The government announced nearly three years ago that it was establishing a restitution program.

    Some ASD members have described the remissions program as a government plot. Meanwhile, two ASD figures — Kenneth Wayne Leaming and Christian Oesch — sought to sue the government last year for the spectacular sum of more than $29 TRILLION.

    Disner started a drive earlier this year to raise money to help him and onetime attorney Dwight Schweitzer file a pro se lawsuit against the government.

    In recent weeks, other ASD members have started a fundraising drive for Bowdoin, who was arrested on ASD-related criminal charges in December 2010.

    There have been at least four efforts by subgroups of ASD members to raise money to litigate against the government since August 2008. Some ASD members who provided funding have contributed multiple times, becoming members of subgroups within subgroups that issued appeals for cash.

    A defunct organization known as ASD Members International (ASDMI) purported in October 2008 to be a Missouri nonprofit whose aim was to litigate against the government even if it was proceeding lawfully and perhaps have prosecutors and investigators charged with crimes.

    Separately, a group known as the ASD Members Business Association (ASDMBA) claimed it had gathered more than $100,000 to challenge the forfeiture and speed the return of seized funds. ASDMBA’s de facto head was Bob Guenther, a convicted felon.

    ASDMBA members complained that Guenther provided no transparent accounting after soliciting funds.

    Disner’s apparent group of ASD members is known informally as “ASD Justice,” the title of a Blog. No accounting has been released of the sums it collected. A plan by Disner and Schweitzer to sue the government in Florida’s federal courts appears to have stalled.

    Bowdoin’s apparent group is calling itself “Andy’s Fundraising Army.” It has missed two launch dates this month, but now says it will launch tomorrow. The group has positioned Bowdoin as “David,” with the government cast as a lawless “Goliath.”

  • Government Sues Washington State Man Once Imprisoned For Possessing Explosive Device; John Lloyd Kirk Now Accused Of Pushing ‘Redemption’ Tax Scam; Anti-Defamation League’s Brief On Kirk Is On Same Webpage As Brief On AdSurfDaily Figure Kenneth Wayne Leaming

    A Washington state man sentenced in the 1990s to 46 months in federal prison for possessing a pipe bomb now has become the subject of a tax investigation.

    A civil case filed Thursday in Seattle against John Lloyd Kirk accuses him of pushing a “redemption” tax scheme. At least 31 of Kirk’s customers sought fraudulent tax refunds totaling about $8 million, the Justice Department said.

    Kirk, 70, of Des Moines, Wash., has been identified by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a “sovereign citizen” and member of an extremist group known as the “Little Shell Pembina Band.”

    Kenneth Wayne Leaming, an emerging figure in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme story, also has been identified by ADL as a sovereign citizen and member of the Little Shell Pembina Band. Leaming lists an address in Spanaway, Wash. In 2010, he sought unsuccessfully to sue the United States for the apparent sum of more than $29 TRILLION for its actions in the ASD case. The sum sought in the lawsuit was more than twice the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2009.

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin was indicted last year on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities. ASD is known to have sovereign citizens and tax-deniers in its ranks, and Bowdoin was accused of operating a Ponzi scheme that gathered at least $110 million.

    Leaming’s history also includes the filing of bogus liens against government officials and a Franciscan hospital in Washington state, according to records. Like Kirk, he has purported to practice tribal law.

    An ADL website publishes brief profiles of both Leaming and Kirk on the same page.

    The Justice Department’s lawsuit against Kirk does not reference ASD. Kirk was accused of hatching a redemption scheme individually and through two entities: Indian Nations Advocate Law Office and The Kirk of Yahh Hava.

    “Kirk purports to be a member of good standing of the Tulalip Tribal Bar and allowed to
    practice law before its tribal court although he is not an attorney,” the Justice Department alleged.

    In a redemption scheme, customers typically are told that the government maintains “secret” accounts for U.S. citizens and that the accounts contain vast sums of money that can be accessed and used to retire debts. Another form of the redemption theory holds that individuals can “draw” on their secret accounts with the U.S. Treasury to pay their tax bills and qualify for spectacular refunds.

    “Kirk’s scheme is part of a ongoing trend amongst tax protestors to file frivolous tax returns and Forms 1099-OID (or to claim false OID income) with the IRS and courts in an attempt to escape their federal tax obligations and steal from the U.S. Treasury,” the Justice Department said.

    “At his 1099 OID seminars, Kirk advises his customers that they can draw on a secret account with the United States Treasury to pay their debts,” the Justice Department alleged. “He further advises his customers to file bogus tax returns with fraudulent Forms 1099-OID to draw on this secret account that the Treasury supposedly maintains for each person. Accordingly, he advises his customers to file false Forms 1099-OID and tax returns seeking tax refunds for amounts equal to the amounts of their mortgages, car loans, credit card debts, and other debts as well as any interest incurred on those obligations.”

    Kirk advised one of his customers to file fraudulent paperwork to receive a tax refund of more than $130,000. In another case, a customer of Kirk’s received a fraudulent refund of more than $700,000. At least 31 Kirk customers filed for fraudulent refunds totaling approximately $8 million, the Justice Department said.

    The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a terrorism research group based at the University of Maryland, identified Kirk as a member of the Washington state “Freemen.” ADL, meanwhile, reported that Kirk was a friend of infamous Montana Freeman LeRoy Schweitzer.

  • BULLETIN: Feds Say Man Filed False Liens For Tens Of Billions Of Dollars Against Federal Prosecutors, Investigators; Mark D. Leitner Indicted In Florida

    BULLETIN: It has happened again, this time in the Sunshine State.

    Mark D. Leitner has been indicted in Florida on charges of filing false liens against federal prosecutors, investigators and court personnel involved in his criminal trial last year on tax charges.

    Leitner, whose age and address were not provided in a Justice Department statement, was accused of filing liens for $48.489 billion against a number of federal employees. He was specifically accused of filing false liens, corruptly endeavoring to impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service and publicly disclosing Social Security numbers in the commission of illegal activity.

    In at least five instances, Leitner disclosed the Social Security numbers of federal officials, prosecutors said. Records at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, meanwhile, show that Leitner unsuccessfully tried to sue the United States last year.

    Records at the Federal Bureau of Prisons show that Mark Daniel Leitner is an inmate at the Lewisburg federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania. His age is listed as 39.

    Mark Daniel Leitner was convicted in Pensacola last year in a tax case, according to federal records.

    The new case against Leitner is reminiscent of events surrounding the AdSurfDaily autosurf, which federal prosecutors described as a $110 million Ponzi scheme.

    ASD figures Kenneth Wayne Leaming and Christian Oesch unsuccessfully sought to sue the United States last year, apparently for the staggering sum of $29 TRILLION, after key court rulings went against the Florida-based company operated by Andy Bowdoin.

    Leaming and Oesch also used the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. As was the case with Leitner, their lawsuit bid was rejected.

    ASD is known to have members who define themselves as “sovereign” beings who are not answerable to U.S. law.

    In the Leitner case, prosecutors said that he  “filed and mailed numerous harassing and frivolous documents to the court and personnel.”

    Some ASD members claimed a federal judge owed tens of millions of dollars for her role in the ASD case. The U.S. Secret Service and federal prosecutors also were targeted with mail that demanded them to take certain actions.

    See earlier story that references Leitner and the Pensacola tax case.

    See earlier story on Kenneth Wayne Leaming. See another one. Leaming, who claims to practice maritime law but appears never to have attended law school,  has been sanctioned in Washington state for filing bogus liens, according to records.

    See December 2010 story about a false-liens case against Andrew Isaac Chance in Maryland.

    See an August 2010 story about a false-liens case against Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao in California.

    See a June 2010 story about a false-liens case against Ronald James Davenport in Washington state.

  • BULLETIN: Court Dismisses Bizarre, ASD-Connected Lawsuit Filed By Leaming, Oesch; ‘Complaint Deteriorates Into Rambling,’ Judge Says

    Kenneth Wayne Leaming, also known as "Kenneth Wayne."

    BULLETIN: A bizarre lawsuit filed against the U.S. government by AdSurfDaily figures Kenneth Wayne Leaming and Christian Oesch has been dismissed.

    In dismissing the complaint, Judge Christine Odell Cook Miller of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims agreed with the government’s contention that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the claim.

    The judge described the complaint by Leaming, Oesch and an affiliated company known as MYHUB GROUP LLC as a bid to argue about “an unlawful taking of the forfeited property” in the ASD case, which was heard in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

    Meanwhile, the judge ruled that MYHUB GROUP inappropriately sought to act as its own attorney.

    Corporations are required to have professional counsel to appear in court, the judge ruled.

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin suffered a similar setback last year when he tried to represent ASD pro se in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

    Leaming and Oesch appear to have tried to use the U.S. Court of Federal Claims as an appeals court for U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, while apparently seeking the staggering sum of $29 trillion from a federal judge, three federal prosecutors and a U.S. Secret Service agent involved in the ASD Ponzi scheme forfeiture case.

    “Plaintiffs’ challenge took the form of presenting claims issued by Tina M. Hall, a notary public in the State of Washington to officials associated with the forfeitures,” Cook Miller noted in the order of dismissal.  “Ms. Hall issued ‘Certificates of Default  on February 16, 2010, against these government officials for failure to respond to plaintiffs’ claims ‘in admiralty.’ At this point the complaint deteriorates into rambling.”

    The judge also barred Leaming and Oesch from seeking sanctions against the government.

    “As an initial matter, this court notes that, during the course of briefing on defendant’s motion, defense counsel has suffered the opprobrium of plaintiffs’ aspersions and disparagement, including charges of unethical practices,” Cook Miller said in the ruling. “Defendant charitably characterizes this argument as hyperbole . . . and the court will lay the matter to rest by denying any request for sanctions that plaintiffs may be making.”

    Hall’s notary license was revoked by the state of Washington in October. Records show that she has notarized other bizarre claims on Leaming’s behalf, including a claim against a Franciscan hospital for more than $9 billion.

    See earlier story.

  • DISTURBING: Out On Bail After Ponzi Arrest, Is Andy Bowdoin Giving Marching Orders? Email Attributed To Former ASD Executive Gary Talbert Advises Members To Tell Claims Processor They Were Purchasing ‘Advertising’

    Andy Bowdoin

    UPDATED 9:28 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) On Dec. 1, a federal magistrate judge set bail of $350,000 for AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin and ordered him not to commit a federal, state or local crime after his arrest by the U.S. Secret Service on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities.

    Bowdoin, 76, was specifically warned that he could be held in contempt of court for violating conditions of his bail. The conditions included an order not to obstruct the investigation or tamper with witnesses.

    Now an email attributed to former ASD and AdViewGlobal executive Gary Talbert has surfaced that is raising questions about whether Bowdoin is trying to suppress the victims’ count and manipulate ASD members who seek to file restitution claims with Rust Consulting Inc., the official claims administrator in the $110 million Ponzi case.

    The email specifically references Bowdoin’s arrest, but makes no reference to the bail conditions set by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas G. Wilson in advance of a scheduled appearance by Bowdoin in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Dec. 17.

    Bowdoin made his initial court appearance before Wilson in Florida.

    “Got a email from Andy and he told me to go ahead and send this email out to everyone,” noted the email attributed to Talbert, who filed a sworn affidavit on ASD’s behalf in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2008. “He does have a hearing on Dec. 17th in Washington D.C. He and his lawyers are still positive on the out come.”

    “Here is just a idea and I think this will work for everyone,” the email continued. “This should keep everyone legal. Because I think everyone understood it was not a investment. I believe it is time to fill out the info. from Rust inc. with the following addendum.

    “Where it asks for your signature write in there ‘See addendum’.

    “Now put this in your own words on the addendum. Here is a out line.

    “On the addendum write that you knew this was not a investment and you where purchasing advertising. Now since the gov. stopped my advertising company and I did not get my advertising I would like to get my advertising money back from whom ever is holding it now. Sign it and send it in with the forms from Rust.”

    News about the email attributed to Talbert was spreading among ASD members last night. Separately, ASD figures Kenneth Wayne Leaming and Christian Oesch have filed an ASD-related lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that apparently seeks the spectacular sum of $29 TRILLION from a federal judge, three federal prosecutors and a Secret Service agent involved in the ASD Ponzi case.

    On June 30, 2009, AdViewGlobal was cited as an extension of ASD in a racketeering lawsuit filed against Bowdoin by ASD members. The reference was dated June 29, 2009, the same day Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison for his Ponzi scheme.

    Federal prosecutors now say Bowdoin faces up to 120 years in prison if convicted of all counts against him.

    “AVG is the next iteration of the Ponzi scheme auto-surf programs, which [are] staffed with former ASD executives and Bowdoin disciples, including George Harris, the stepson of Bowdoin, who is listed as an AVG trustee, Gary Talbert, former ASD executive served as CEO of AVG and now serves as an accountant, Nate Boyd, a former compliance officer at ASD, serves as ‘Protector’ of the AVG association, and Chuck Osmin, a former ASD employee who testified on ASD’s behalf at the evidentiary hearing before this Court last fall is a customer service representative of AVG,” the RICO plaintiffs claimed.

    The grand jury that indicted Bowdoin began to meet in May 2009. During that same month, AVG was scurrying to reconfigure itself after gathering money from members and offering 200 percent “bonuses” for months. AVG launched in the aftermath of the seizure of tens of millions of dollars from Bowdoin in August 2008, the filing by the government of a second forfeiture complaint against ASD-connected assets in December 2008 and the filing of the racketeering lawsuit against Bowdoin.

    The December 2008 forfeiture complaint specifically named Bowdoin family members Edna Faye Bowdoin, George Harris and Judy Harris as beneficiaries of crimes committed by ASD. Edna Faye Bowdoin is Andy Bowdoin’s wife; George Harris is Bowdoin’s stepson; Judy Harris is the wife of George Harris.

    In January 2009, just days prior to its official launch in early February, AVG bizarrely both confirmed and denied it had ties to ASD.

    The appearance of AVG graphics in an ASD-controlled webroom after the federal seizure was an “operational coincidence,” AVG memorably explained. The announcement was attributed to Chuck Osmin, himself a former ASD employee.

    Even though AVG previously had denied ASD ties, the upstart surf then announced that Talbert was its CEO.

    “Since Mr. Talbert was and is the C.E.O. for both companies and had worked with the same web room company while at ASD, it would be very natural for him to choose and use many of the same venders (sic) that he had used before. So, the fact that ASD and AdView Global are using the same web room hosting company is no accident, in fact it is an operational coincidence,” AdViewGlobal said.

    Why the surf identified Talbert as ASD’s CEO was unclear. He was listed in his own sworn court documents in the ASD case as ASD’s “Human Resource Manager, Assistant CFO and Website Editor.”

    By March 2009, AVG announced that Talbert had resigned as AVG’s chief. It also announced that its bank account had been suspended, blaming the development on members.

    In May 2009, AVG announced that it had secured a new, offshore wire facilitator to help it gather money from members. The announcement was made on the same day the Obama administration announced a crackdown on offshore financial fraud. (See this story and included links for updates on AVG’s purported facilitator, KINGZ Capital Management. There is a tie between KINGZ and Minnesota Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook.)

    By June 25, 2009, AVG announced it was suspending cashouts, again blaming the development on members while threatening members and journalists with copyright-infringement lawsuits for reporting the news.

    Just four days later, on June 29, 2009, the RICO plaintiffs in the ASD lawsuit referenced AVG in a court filing docketed the following day, June 30. By September 2009, federal prosecutors made a veiled reference to AVG in filings in the ASD case.

    By Sept. 29, 2009, an email attributed to ASD spokeswoman Sara Mattoon was circulating among ASD members. The email specifically instructed members not to fill out a government form that would be used as part of the restitution process.

    “Soon after the ASD shutdown, the DOJ (Dept of Justice) set up a website for people to file a claim for the money they had in ASD,” Mattoon was quoted as saying in the email. “As soon as I heard about it, I told everyone not to do it because I could see what the Government was trying to do, but some people didn’t realize what it was and afterwards they regretted doing so.”

    The Matton email referenced an earlier email attributed to ASD member and purported trainer Robert Fava. Like the Mattoon email, the Fava email discouraged members from filling out the government form, describing it as “ammunition” that could be used against ASD.

  • Judge At Bail Hearing Orders Bowdoin To Surrender Passport And Not To Intimidate Witnesses, Court Officials; Order Issued Against Backdrop Of Payment Demand By 2 ASD Figures For $29 TRILLION From Federal Judge, Prosecutors, Secret Service Agent

    Andy Bowdoin and Kenneth Wayne Leaming.

    As AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin was explaining to a federal magistrate judge in Florida Wednesday that he’d honestly come by $110 million the government intends to make subject to criminal forfeiture, two other ASD figures were awaiting a ruling by a judge in another venue on whether they could proceed with their bizarre, ASD-connected lawsuit against the U.S. government.

    One of the men, Kenneth Wayne Leaming of Spanaway, Wash., described himself in court documents as a “sovereign man.” Records in Washington state show that he once filed a lien against a faith-based Franciscan hospital for $9.24 billion, threatening to attach the money, furnishings and fixtures of the healthcare facility, which serves tens of thousands of patients.

    Leaming, who also has a history of filing liens against public officials, has been assessed sanctions totaling at least $15,000 in Washington state for filing bogus claims, according to records. He also has been accused of the unauthorized practice of law.

    Leaming and Christian Oesch filed a complaint against the United States in July 2010. The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, appears to be tied to an earlier failed bid by Leaming and Oesch to demand a payment for the astronomical sum of $29 TRILLION from a federal judge, three federal prosecutors and a U.S. Secret Service agent for their actions in the ASD civil-forfeiture cases filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2008.

    At a bail hearing Wednesday in Florida after Bowdoin was arrested on federal charges of wire fraud and securities fraud for his operation of ASD, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas G. Wilson specifically ordered Bowdoin not to intimidate witnesses, jurors and officers of the court — and not to obstruct the investigation, tamper with witnesses or engage in retaliatory actions against witnesses, victims or informants.

    As a condition of bail, Bowdoin was ordered not to commit a federal, state or local crime. Wilson warned him that he could be prosecuted for contempt of court for violating the conditions of his bail.

    Bowdoin, 76, was granted bail after he told Wilson that he had a heart condition, diabetes and high blood pressure — and  that he gives his wife medication because she has a brain tumor. He noted that he looked forward to going on trial in Washington, D.C., on the charges for which he was arrested on Wednesday, and had lined up experts to testify on his behalf.

    Prosecutors argued that Bowdoin should be jailed, saying he was a flight risk, has ties to international countries, potentially could acquire false travel documents and has a large amount of money available to relocate.

    Wilson set bail at $350,000. Bowdoin was freed after bail was secured by two properties in his wife’s name and a relative agreed to post a surety bond. Bowdoin was ordered to surrender his passport and not to travel outside the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida and the District of Columbia. He was further ordered to report by telephone to the federal Pre-Trial Services Agency in Tampa each Wednesday by 4 p.m., except for when he is attending court in the District of Columbia.

    His first appearance in Washington is set for Dec. 17 at 1:45 p.m.

    In June 2010, the PP Blog learned yesterday, Leaming and Oesch prepared documents that demanded payments totaling more than $29 TRILLION from U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer; Jeffrey A Taylor, the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Vasu B Muthyala, an assistant U.S. Attorney; William Cowden, a former assistant U.S. Attorney and Roy Dotson, an active-duty agent with the U.S. Secret Service.

    According to a document obtained by the Blog, the public officials were sent “invoice billing statements” for the purported debt.

    Collyer, the presiding judge in the ASD forfeiture cases, had issued two final orders of forfeiture earlier this year. She later blocked Leaming and Oesch from filing documents in the ASD case.

    Collyer’s name was misspelled as “Collier” in the payment demand, which was made in the form of a “Notice of Final Determination and Judgment.” The bizarre document sought a sum that would more than double the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2009. The precise sum demanded from the public officials was twenty-nine trillion, four-hundred-forty-four billion, one-hundred-one-million dollars — “PLUS interest and compounded penalties.”

    Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within the borders of an entire country during an entire year. GDP for the United States in 2009 was about $14.25 trillion, meaning that Leaming and Oesch sought to collect from five public servants a sum that was more than twice the production output of the entire U.S. economy last year.

    Leaming and Oesch said they defined $1 as “one ounce of .999 fine silver, or a pre-1964 United States Silver Dollar, whichever value is greater.”

    In 2009, silver production in the United States totaled only 1,230 tons with an estimated value of $520 million, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

    The men said they’d accept U.S. “fiat currency” for payment if it was tied to the “spot price for silver as established on the date of tender at London, England.”

    When the public officials did not cede to the payment demand, Leaming and Oesch appear to have turned to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to enforce it, in effect arguing that Collyer, Taylor, Muthyala, Cowden and Dotson had defaulted on a contract.

    Such scorched-earth litigation has been referred to as “paper terrorism.” As part of the apparent strategy, Leaming and Oesch also sought to force the government to post a bond of $100 billion and to “Cease and desist in all investigation and harassment of ASD, its officers and staff, and its member/distributors FOREVER.”

    The U.S. Department of Justice responded by filing a motion to dismiss the complaint filed by Leaming and Oesch in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, arguing that the court had no jurisdiction over ASD-connected forfeiture matters, that Leaming and Oesch were trying to use the claims court as an appeals court and that neither man had standing in the forfeiture actions.

    The Justice Department pointed out that Leaming is not a licensed attorney and had been accused in 2005 by the Washington state Law Practice Board of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

    In 2009, Leaming filed a lien against St. Clare Hospital, a Franciscan facility in Lakewood, Wash., for more than $9.24 billion. The lien sought to attach the hospital’s money, furnishings and fixtures, according to records.

    See stories on Leaming.

  • Leaming Claimed Small Town Targeted Him For ‘DEATH’; Second Woman Blocked By Federal Judge From Filing ‘Notary’ Claim In AdSurfDaily Case Has Leaming Tie; Leaming And ASD Figure Christian Oesch Try To Sue United States

    Kenneth Wayne Leaming, also known as "Kenneth Wayne" and "Keny."

    UPDATED 5:52 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A Washington state man emerging as a figure in the AdSurfDaily forfeiture case claimed a small town targeted him for “DEATH” and threatened to kill him by “HUNTING” him down “in screaming packs and mobs” and using “several armed street gangs” that served as police, according to records.

    Kenneth Wayne Leaming of Spanaway filed a lien for $10 million in 2009 against the city of Puyallup, Wash., in the case. Among the claims were that Puyallup engaged in terrorism by controlling “multiple electronic broadcast media” and employing police who used “chemical and biological weapons,” “machine guns” and “explosives.”

    The lien was notarized by Tina M. Hall, a Leaming business associate and another emerging figure in the ASD case. Hall’s notary license was revoked last month. Leaming has been linked by the Anti-Defamation League to an “extremist group” known as “Little Shell Pembina Band of North America.”

    Puyallup is a city of about 33,000 in Pierce County.

    Pattern Of Filing Astronomical Liens

    In a separate case in which Leaming’s name is referenced as a co-defendant with Janice Kay Bryson, a lien for more than $19 billion was placed against several individuals and the city of Fife, Wash., another small town in Pierce County. Records show that Leaming has been assessed sanctions of at least $15,000 in Washington state for filing false liens.

    Fife has a population of about 4,800. Puyallup, named in the $10 million lien, somehow also became a party along with Fife in the $19 billion lien.

    Lien For Billions Filed Against Hospital With Historic Roots To St. Francis Of Assisi And The Order Of Poor Ladies Founded By St. Clare

    Leaming also filed a bogus lien for $9.2 billion against St. Clare Hospital, a faith-based facility in Washington state that admitted 6,995 patients, handled 48,363 patient visits to its Emergency Department and received 26,114 outpatient visits during the 2008 fiscal year.

    Hall also affixed her notary seal to the lien against St. Clare, which is operated by Franciscan Heath Systems and traces its faith-based healthcare mission in Washington state to 1891.

    The Franciscan Order is named after St. Francis, known the world over as St. Francis of Assisi, who died 784 years ago, in 1226, after rejecting earthly wealth and living in poverty as a street preacher. He is one the most revered figures in the annals of Christianity.

    One of the first followers of the man who became known as St. Francis of Assisi was Chiara Offreduccio. She became known as Clare of Assisi and, after being elevated to sainthood, St. Clare. Clare of Assisi was the founder of the Order of Poor Ladies which, like the Franciscan Order, rejected earthly wealth. The Order of Poor Ladies went on to become known as the Order of St. Clare, known the world over as the “Poor Clares.”

    Leaming sought to attach “all tangible and intangible property” of the St. Clare Franciscan facility, including its money, furnishings and fixtures, according to records. St. Clare was Leaming’s community hospital in Spanaway. Ironically, AdSurfDaily members had positioned ASD in promotional materials as the invention of a Christian “genius” and an attractive way for people of faith to make enormous sums of money by clicking on advertisements for less than 20 minutes a day.

    Members who recruited other members were paid commissions of 10 percent. Commissions for second-level recruits in the MLM scheme were set at 5 percent. ASD member and purported company “trainer” Robert Fava claimed in a testimonial that he made $1,000 a day from ASD.

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin, speaking at an event in Las Vegas in May 2008, exhorted attendees to “to have an attitude of gratitude with God” and imagine themselves in possession of “a big check coming in from AdSurfDaily.” Bowdoin thanked God from the stage for developing him into a “money magnet.”

    Video from the Las Vegas event shows members standing in line to turn money over to ASD — and employees placing paperwork into plastic baskets. By Aug. 1, 2008, about two months after the Las Vegas gathering, the U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars from 10 personal bank accounts held by Bowdoin, amid allegations of money-laundering, wire fraud and operating a Ponzi scheme. Court filings placed the amount seized from Bowdoin at $65.8 million.

    One of his personal accounts contained more than $31.6 million; another contained more than $23.7 million. Prosecutors said ASD was not Bowdoin’s first brush with the law. In the 1990s, he pleaded guilty to felonies that flowed from an Alabama securites caper, avoiding prison by agreeing to make restitution to victims.

    About $14 million more under the control of Clarence Busby and an ASD-related  company known as Golden Panda Ad Builder also was seized by the Secret Service. The abbreviation “Rev.” was attached to Busby’s name 120 times in an ASD-related court filing that accused the company and unnamed co-conspirators of racketeering.

    Busby was accused by the SEC in the 1990s of participating in three prime bank schemes in which investors were promised enormous returns that did not materialize.

    Why Leaming, who acknowledges an “Almighty Creator” only known as “I am” in documents that identify Leaming as “Postmaster,” would seek to vex and bankrupt a faith-based hospital and two small towns in Washington state is unclear.

    Also unclear is why any ASD member would put faith in the purported legal skills of Leaming, who was accused of the unauthorized practice of law in the state five years ago and was the subject of a protection-from-abuse order filed by a notary public who claimed he coerced her into notarizing documents.

    At least two notaries public have lost their licenses in Washington state after performing work for Leaming, according to records.

    At Least 3 ASD Filers Have Leaming Ties

    Excluding himself, Leaming now has been linked to at least three people who either filed or attempted to file documents in the ASD case: Hall, Christian Oesch and Kathryn E. Aschlea.

    On June 11, 2010, Aschlea was blocked by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer from filing a document styled “Claim by Notary Presentment/Acceptance” in the ASD forfeiture case in the District of Columbia.

    The nature of the blocked filing is not publicly known.

    Records in Washington state identify a woman by the same name as a notary public. Meanwhile, Kathryn Aschlea is listed as a business partner of Kenneth Wayne Leaming in a venture known as FAN NW LTD INC. Aschlea is listed as a “governing person” and vice president of the firm, with Leaming — shortening his name to “Kenneth Wayne” by dropping the surname “Leaming” in the registration — listed as president and a “governing person.”

    The unsuccessful bid to file in the ASD case occurred more than five months after Collyer issued a final order of forfeiture that granted the government title to the money seized by the U.S. Secret Service from Andy Bowdoin. Collyer signed an order in July 2009 that awarded the money seized from Busby’s Golden Panda to the government.

    Federal prosecutors announced more than two years ago that money declared forfeited would be used to compensate victims.

    Prosecutors brought the forfeiture case to enforce wire-fraud and money-laundering laws, according to court records. A racketeering statute also is referenced in the forfeiture complaint.

    Collyer has consistently ruled that nonparty claimants have no standing in the ASD case.

    On July 2, 2010 — nearly six months after Collyer issued the final forfeiture order and four months after Bowdoin appealed it — Collyer blocked Leaming and Christian Oesch from filing a document styled “Notice of Final Determination and Judgment by Christian Oesch and Kenneth Wayne.”

    Like Aschlea and Hall,  Oesch has a business tie to Leaming. A Leaming company known as AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW INC. is listed as the registered agent for an Oesch-controlled company in Washington state known as HUMAN ECONOMIC RESOURCE SOLUTIONS LTD.

    Records list Hall as vice president of AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL, with Leaming as its president.

    Records suggest that within days of the July 2 docket entry in which Collyer blocked “Kenneth Wayne” and Oesch from filing the document styled “Notice of Final Determination and Judgment,” Leaming set the stage for ads positioning him as an “attorney” or “lawyer” to appear online. Those ads were removed by Justia.com, Oyez.org and Cornell University Law school earlier this month, after questions were raised about whether Leaming was a licensed attorney.

    Records show there have been multiple complaints about Leaming engaging in the unauthorized practice of law in Washington state. At least one of the complaints came from a woman who lost her notary’s license in 2005 as a result of notarizing documents on Leaming’s behalf, according to records.

    The woman also filed for a protection-from-abuse order against Leaming, according to records maintained by the Washington State Bar Association, which redacted the woman’s name in a 2005 letter to Leaming that accused him of the unauthorized practice of law.

    Records at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims show that “Kenneth Wayne” and Christian Oesch filed a complaint against the United States on July 23, 2010, about three weeks after Collyer rejected their bids to file a document on the ASD docket in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

    A public link to the complaint is not available. The docket, however, shows that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. Whether Leaming and Oesch even can establish that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC), which typically hears contract disputes in a limited number cases in which the government waives sovereign immunity, has jurisdiction to hear an ASD-related dispute is far from clear.

    Leaming is listed as an “agent” for “MYHUB GROUP LLC” on the COFC docket. A company by that name is listed in Nevada records as in “default,” with Christian Oesch as its manager.

    Earlier this month, some ASD members received an email that referenced “MYHUB.” The email appeared to be a compendium assembled by ASD member Sara Mattoon. The same email referenced a purported “legal opinion” by “Keny.”

    “Keny” is a nickname used by Leaming.

    The email asserted that ASD members who filed a restitution claim through Rust Consulting, the government-approved claims administrator, might face a lawsuit from a group of ASD members.

    “Again, we are asking that our Claimants do not engage in the DOJ’s Remission Process, as long you want to maintain being part of our Group Claims whatsoever,” the portion of the email attributed to MYHUB read in part. “If you are indeed wanting to eat on the other side of the fence, you must let us know before you submit anything to the DOJ, without causing us potential harm and further damages. In case you were to fail to notify us, we would have a possible claim against you, and that’s not what you want us to do in the first place.”

  • SPECIAL REPORT: Woman Blocked By Federal Judge From Filing Claim In ASD Case Notarized $9.2 Billion ‘Lien’ Against Hospital In Washington State; Kenneth Wayne Leaming Sought To Attach ‘All Tangible’ Property Of Franciscan Healthcare Facility

    Kenneth Wayne Leaming, also known as Kenneth Wayne.
    Kenneth Wayne Leaming, also known as Kenneth Wayne.

    UPDATED 8:03 A.M. ET (U.S.A., Nov. 23) A Washington state notary public stripped of her license last month notarized a purported “admiralty” lien for the colossal sum of $9.24 billion against Franciscan Heath Systems, the faith-based operator of St. Clare Hospital of Lakewood, Wash., according to records.

    The Franciscan tradition in Washington state traces its roots to 1891, when the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia founded St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma. St. Clare is a 106-bed facility that serves Lakewood, Spanaway, Steilacoom, DuPont, University Place and other communities in Pierce County, according to records.

    The purported lien, acknowledged with the seal of notary Tina M. Hall, was in favor of her business colleague, Kenneth Wayne Leaming, according to records in Pierce County.

    Both Hall and Leaming are listed as officers of American International Business Law Inc., a Spanaway company some members of Florida-based AdSurfDaily say is performing legal work on their behalf.

    U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer of the District of Columbia has blocked bids by both Hall and Leaming to file pleadings in the ASD case. Hall lost her notary license last month after notarizing a string of bizarre documents in Washington state. The nature of the documents she sought to file in the ASD case, which is being prosecuted in the District of Columbia, has not been disclosed publicly.

    Some ASD members have said they intended to pursue an admiralty claim against the government.

    Leaming, using the notary services of Hall, sought in June 2009 to attach “all tangible and intangible property” of the hospital, including its fixtures, furnishings, motor vehicles, bank accounts, passbooks, saving certificates, stock certificates, lines of credit, inventories, promissory notes, office equipment, educational equipment — and even its mineral and water rights, according to records.

    Hall’s license was revoked about 14 months later. The precise reason for the revocation — and whether the documents filed against the hospital played any role in the revocation decision — was not immediately clear.

    Other records show that Hall has filed similar documents on Leaming’s behalf in other cases. One of them was for $10 million against members of the City Council of Puyallap, Wash.

    Hall also notarized documents for other clients, including a filing styled an “Affidavit of Alternative Obligation” for $100 million against a bank dubbed an “agent” for the Internal Revenue Service.

    Such scorched-earth filings have been referred to in other cases as “paper terrorism,” a litigation approach that is designed to rattle the nerves of judges, prosecutors, attorneys and courtroom opponents. ASD member Curtis Richmond has been associated with such filings in a separate case in Utah. In the Utah case,  Richmond was among a group of litigants sued successfully for racketeering after a purported “Indian” tribe with which they were involved placed a bogus lien against a county prosecutor for $250 million.

    Leaming, who was accused in 2005 of the unauthorized practice of law in Washington state, was dubbed “Postmaster” in the bizarre filing against Franciscan Heath Systems, the hospital, Pierce County Court Commissioner Mark Gelman and others.

    Members of law enforcement were expressly warned in the notarized document not to attempt to “negate” Leaming’s wishes to attach the property of the hospital and others. Parties who attempted to interfere “shall be deemed outlaws and/or felons and shall be prosecuted,” according to the filing.

    If filing liens against a hospital that has the responsibility for tending to the needs of entire communities were not enough, Leaming also filed liens or claims against the Washington State Bar Association, members of the Practice of Law Board and others.

    These liens were styled “commercial liens” or “admiralty” claims or “international claims.” On Oct. 16, 2009, a judge ruled them null and void and ordered Leaming to pay the attorneys’ fees and court costs of his targets. The judge also imposed a $10,000 sanction against Leaming to be paid to the Washington State Bar Association’s Lawyer’s Fund for Client Protection.

    See earlier story about the revocation of Hall’s notary license for “professional misconduct.”

    See earlier story about ads listing Leaming as an attorney being pulled from prominent websites.

    See earlier story about threatening email received by some ASD members.

  • DEVELOPING STORY: Tina M. Hall, VP Of Firm Linked To Kenneth Wayne Leaming, Had Notary License Revoked For ‘Professional Misconduct’; Woman With Same Name Sought To Intervene In AdSurfDaily Case

    A document that appears online features this purported likeness of Kenneth Wayne Leaming and purports to explain why he shortens his given name to "Kenneth Wayne."

    The state of Washington revoked the notary license of Tina M. Hall of Spanaway last month for “professional misconduct,” according to the Department of Licensing.

    Hall also is listed as vice president of American International Business Law Inc., a Spanaway company some AdSurfDaily members have said is performing legal work for a group of members.

    Separately, a woman identified as Tina M. Hall was denied leave to file pleadings in the AdSurfDaily forfeiture case by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer on Jan. 27, 2010, and Feb. 12, 2010, according to the docket of the case. Each of the denied filings was styled “Claim by Notary Presentment.”

    Hall’s notary license was revoked about eight months later, according to records. Why the state took the action was not immediately clear. An entry on the state’s website notes a “finding” of professional misconduct and a revocation until March 3, 2015.

    The nature of the pleadings Hall apparently attempted to file in the ASD case was not immediately clear. Several weeks earlier, on Jan. 4, 2010, Collyer issued a forfeiture order that granted the government title to more than $65.8 million seized by the U.S. Secret Service from the personal bank accounts of ASD President Andy Bowdoin in August 2008.

    “Kenneth Wayne,” whose full given name is Kenneth Wayne Leaming, is listed as president of American International. The court docket in the ASD case shows that “Kenneth Wayne” was denied leave to file by Collyer on July 2, 2010. The denied pleading was styled “Notice of Final Determination and Judgment by Christian Oesch and Kenneth Wayne.”

    Oesch earlier had sought to intervene in the case by filing a pleading styled “MOTION to Set Aside Forfeiture & Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 as Facts and Law will Prove.” Collyer denied the motion.

    Dozens of pro-se litigants sought unsuccessfully to intervene in the ASD case.

    Leaming, who goes by the nickname “Keny,” is believed to be the author of a purported “legal opinion” that some ASD members are using to discourage victims from filing a claim for restitution through the official claims administrator.

    Although Leaming advertised himself as a lawyer and published a fee structure of $250 an hour or $150 an hour for prepaid clients on websites operated by Justia.com, Oyez.org and Cornell University Law School, he does not appear to be a licensed attorney. Justia, Oyez and Cornell subsequently removed the listings, which used an address in Spanaway and the name of American International.

    Research by the PP Blog suggests Leaming began publishing the ad just days after Collyer denied him leave to file on July 2. The Washington State Bar Association sent Leaming a letter in 2005 that accused him of the unauthorized practice of law and being physically and emotionally abusive toward a notary public and coercing her to notarize documents.

    A document dubbed “Evidence of Name and Nationality” with Leaming’s full name (first, middle and last) and purported likeness appears online. The photo used in the document is similar to the photo used in the now-removed ads on the Justia, Oyez and Cornell websites. Using exceptionally formal language and stilted prose, the document purports to explain why Leaming drops his surname except for “familial” use.

    “On or about 20 December A.D. 1955 Edna Lottie and Raymond Roy, family LEAMING, begot an offspring son as a gift granted by the Almighty Creator, only known as ‘I Am’, granted it the proper name Kenneth Wayne, and the Nationality of an American National,” the document reads.

    “Kenneth Wayne also inherited the right to the family name LEAMING according to the historic practice of customs and usages,” the document continues. “Kenneth Wayne, having knowledge of the historic practice of customs and usages, and to avoid the confusion inherent in only being known as a son of ‘I Am’, presents himself according to is given name ‘Kenneth Wayne’ when acting as and for himself, and elects to only reference the family name (surname) when acting in a familial capacity.”

  • BULLETIN: Profiles Of Purported Attorney With AdSurfDaily Tie Removed From Cornell, Justia, Oyez Websites; Notary Public Told Washington Law Practice Board In 2005 That Kenneth Wayne Leaming Was ‘Physically And Emotionally Abusive’ And Coercive

    UPDATED 2:33 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Cornell University Law School, Justia.com and Oyez.org have removed the online profiles of Kenneth Wayne Leaming. Leaming previously had been listed as an attorney who practiced law and advertised a fee structure of up to $250 an hour from Spanaway, Wash.

    Visitors were encouraged to “schedule a free introductory consultation.”

    Cornell said Sunday that it would remove Leaming’s profile if he proved not to be a licensed attorney. The university began checking into the matter after it learned a man by the same name had been accused in Washington state in 2005 of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

    The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) said yesterday that it was continuing to research matters pertaining to Leaming. Leaming was the subject of a letter sent in 2005 by the Practice of Law Board of the State of Washington. The Law Board made a determination in December 2005 that Leaming’s conduct in cases it was investigating “constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.”

    In one case, the Law Board said, a notary public accused Leaming of coercing her into “notarizing documents that resulted in the loss of her notary license.”

    A final deposition of the case was not immediately available.

    “When [the notary] questioned you about the legality of notarizing the documents you drafted, you were physically and emotionally abusive to her,” the Law Board wrote in its letter to Leaming, citing the notary’s allegations. “[The notary] voluntarily resigned her notary license as a consequence of the acts you directed. She has also obtained an order of protection against you.”

    A purported business entity known as “AMERICAN-INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW INC.,” which some AdSurfDaily members claim is providing legal representation to a group of members, is associated with Leaming, according to records.

    Unlawful practice of law can be charged as a crime in the state of Washington. Leaming is not listed as a member of the state bar, and has been described by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a “self-described ‘recognized international lawyer’” and member of an extremist group known as the “Little Shell Pembina Band.”

    The ASD case has been filled with oddities since the U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars from the Florida-based firm in August 2008, accusing ASD in a forfeiture complaint of operating a massive Ponzi scheme.

    Some ASD members have been associated with the “sovereign,” “Patriot” and tax-denial movements. The case has featured dozens of bizarre, pro-se pleadings filed by ASD members, some of whom claimed the prosecutors and judges involved in the case were guilty of crimes.

    One ASD member — Curtis Richmond — has been associated with a Utah  “Indian Tribe” a federal judge ruled a “sham” after members of the bogus tribe placed enormous financial judgments against public servants and members of law enforcement in the performance of their duties. The sham tribe was known as “Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band.” Richmond was successfully sued under the federal racketeering statute for his sham activities.

    Regardless, Richmond was hailed a “hero” on the now-defunct Surf’s Up forum, a pro-ASD website that had members who openly jeered and condemned prosecutors and the Secret Service. One forum member described ASD critics as “rats” and “maggots” and “cockroaches.” Some members heckled a federal prosecutor, calling him “Gomer Pyle.” One member wrote that the prosecutor should be placed in a medieval torture rack, suggesting fellow members should draw straws to determine who got the honor of turning the screw.

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin said the prosecution was the work of “Satan.”

    Many of the pro-se filings in the case are at odds with the public record, conflating realities that simply do not exist about matters pertaining to evidence and witnesses. Recent emails circulated by some ASD members suggest that a group of members is trying to cloud issues and intimidate victims into not filing complaints or making a claim for restitution.

    ASD also is the subject of a racketeering lawsuit brought by members against  Bowdoin and attorney Robert Garner of North Carolina.

    See story from Sunday.

    See story from Saturday.

  • UPDATE: Cornell University Seeks To Determine If Man Referenced In Email Circulated By ASD Members’ Group Is Licensed Attorney; Website Listing For Kenneth Wayne Leaming Under Review

    UPDATED 11:04 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) Cornell University said Sunday that it will remove a listing on its Law School website for Kenneth Wayne Leaming of Spanaway, Wash., if Leaming proves not to be a licensed attorney. A review of the listing and the circumstances under which Leaming’s name was added to a database of attorneys’ names is under way.

    A person named Kenneth Wayne Leaming of Spanaway, Wash., was accused in 2005 of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, according to a document that appears on the website of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA.) Meanwhile, a person by the same name is referenced by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a “self-described ‘recognized international lawyer’ and a member of an “extremist group” known as “Little Shell Pembina Band of North America.”

    The group is known to have ties to Washington state, according to ADL.

    Leaming, according to ADL, once served as a deputy sheriff and member of the Civil Rights Task Force, a “sovereign citizen group that has used badges and raid jackets to resemble law enforcement officers.”

    Cornell noted that Leaming should “have provided us with documentary proof of his law license” before his name was published on a website the Law School runs in partnership with Justia.com.

    “[O]bviously that needs to be double-checked at this point for validity or alterations,” said Thomas R. Bruce, director of Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. “Of course we’ll remove him if he’s not what he claims to be.”

    As part of its partnership with Justia, Cornell publishes free listings for licensed attorneys across the United States. Leaming’s name appears in listings on both the Cornell Law School site and the Justia site.

    Leaming’s name also appears in a listing at Oyez.org, another Justia-affiliated site that publishes information on cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Whether Leaming, whose listings advertise a practice in Spanaway, is a licensed attorney is unclear.

    The listings, which advertise a fee structure and areas of practice such as Admiralty/Maritime, Business Law, Estate Planning and Native American Law, do not reference any law school attended by Leaming or law degree obtained. Bruce said the university would work with Justia to review “verification procedures used to make sure that those who claim to be attorneys actually are.”

    Whether Leaming has a law degree and is licensed to practice law in any state remains unclear. Bruce said the document published on the WSBA website “certainly paints an unfavorable picture.”

    Leaming goes by the nickname “Keny” and is associated with an entity known as “AMERICAN-INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW INC.,” according to the listings on the Justia-connected sites.

    Last week members of Florida-based AdSurfDaily received an email that referenced “Keny” and the same business entity referenced in the attorney listings published by Cornell and others.

    The email, which appears to be a compendium that cobbles together communications from members of a group within ASD and asks ASD members to pass along the information, implies that ASD members who file for restitution through a government-approved process may face legal action from the group, which has or will file claims against the “illicit UNITED STATED (sic) OF AMERICA INC. et al” for its prosecution of the ASD Ponzi scheme case brought by the U.S. Secret Service in August 2008.

    “The Secret Service does not comment on or discuss ongoing investigations,” an agency spokesman said this morning.

    A purported “legal opinion” by “Keny” was contained within the email received by ASD members, which was circulated by an ASD member referred to as “Sara.”

    ASD is known to have ties to the so-called “Patriot” and “sovereign” movements. The movements are known to engage in what has been described as “paper terrorism” designed to rattle the government and litigation opponents.

    The U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars from the personal bank accounts of ASD President Andy Bowdoin in August 2008, alleging he was at the helm of a massive Ponzi scheme.

    An attorneys’ database at Martindale.com appears to have no listing for a lawyer named “Kenneth Leaming,” “Ken Leaming” or “Keny Leaming.”

    See earlier story.