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Tag: Missouri sovereign citizens

  • Self-Described Missouri ‘Sovereign Citizen’ And Associates Brought ‘Fake Criminal Charges’ Against Banker In Fictitious ‘International Environmental Court,’ Authorities Say

    recommendedreading1UPDATED 2:27 P.M. ET U.S.A. The prosecuting attorney for Greene County, Mo., has publicly thanked a People’s Bank manager for “not succumbing to [John F. Gibson’s] attempts to harass and bully his way out of responsibility for his criminal conduct.”

    Gibson, 61, of Willard, Mo., entered a guilty plea Oct. 29 to a felony charge of forgery, the office of Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson said.

    The case traces its roots to a circumstance that occurred in December 2010. That’s when Gibson, according to prosecutors, “created a money order on his personal computer falsely stating that it was to be paid by the United States Treasury. Gibson then presented the forged money order to People’s Bank to pay a debt his son owed.

    “Gibson identifies himself as a ‘sovereign citizen’ and claimed that he had authority to create this money order as a United States citizen,” prosecutors said.

    From a statement by prosecutors (italics added):

    While Gibson’s attempt to pass a forged money order may not seem particularly newsworthy, it is important that the public be aware of the sovereign citizen movement and the danger posed by the movement. Sovereign citizens consist of many loosely associated groups that are located throughout the country. Their beliefs vary widely, but they all share the common belief that the government lacks legitimate authority. Many times individuals involved with sovereign citizens groups intentionally act in a manner to subvert government authority and try to harm those who they view as assisting the government by, among other things, filing false liens against them.

    In this case, Gibson and his associates retaliated against the People’s Bank manager for her cooperation with the State by bringing fake criminal charges against her in a fictitious court. A sovereign citizens group in Taney County operating the
    fictitious “International Environmental Court” charged the bank manager with violating environmental laws and issued a finding that the bank manager was guilty. Gibson filed a copy of the bogus documents with the Greene County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office on the day of his guilty plea. That matter is currently under investigation.

    Also see coverage in the Springfield News-Leader.  Link to News-Leader video showing Gibson meeting with a police detective.

  • UPDATE: Charles Daniel Koss, Purported Missouri ‘Sovereign Citizen,’ Convicted In ‘Redemption’ Swindle Against Social Security

    recommendedreading1Charles Daniel Koss, a 63-year-old purported “sovereign citizen” from Independence, Mo., faces up to 61 years in federal prison after being convicted in a “redemption” scam targeted at Social Security.

    Koss was convicted of two counts of theft of government money, one count of Social Security disability fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of transmitting a false negotiable instrument with the intent to defraud the government, prosecutors said. The false negotiable instrument was a purported “Registered Private Money Order” mailed to the Social Security Administration purportedly to repay $212,768 Koss owed the agency after it was determined he’d defrauded Social Security and had received disability payments to which he was not entitled between September 1994 and January 2010.

    From the office of U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson of the Western District of Missouri (italics added):

    Koss told federal agents in interviews during the investigation that he has studied redemption theory. Redemption theory involves bogus claims that when the United States government abandoned the gold standard in 1933, it pledged its citizens as collateral so it could borrow money. The movement also asserts that common citizens can gain access to funds in secret accounts using obscure procedures and regulations. According to the theory, the government created a fictitious person (or “straw man”) corresponding to each newborn citizen and each citizen has an alleged secret trust account with the United States Treasury. The theory also claims that through obscure procedures under the Uniform Commercial Code, a citizen can “reclaim” the “straw man” and write negotiable instruments against its accounts. Its adherents sometimes call themselves “sovereign citizens.” The “sovereign citizen” movement is a loosely organized collection of groups and individuals who have adopted anarchist ideology. Its adherents believe that virtually all existing government in the United States is illegitimate and they seek to “restore” an idealized, minimalist government that never actually existed.

    And, Dickinson’s office added, “Redemption theory and sovereign citizen beliefs are totally without merit and they have no basis in law or fact. Individuals often use these ideas to further various fraudulent schemes.”

    Even as he was receiving disability payments, prosecutors said, Koss worked full time at a business known as Embassy Mortgage. He also led an active life-style, including “bowling, golfing, horseshoes, boating, activities at his lake house and frequent visits to Ameristar Casino, where he gambled a total of $260,000 during this time.”

    Koss “failed to report any change in his health condition or any income from Embassy Mortgage to the Social Security Administration,” prosecutors said.