BULLETIN: Yet-another bizarre paperwork attack on U.S. law enforcement has occurred.
A California man has been charged with filing “false liens” in Nevada against federal officials and employees of the SEC, the Secret Service, the IRS, four federal judges and staff members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, federal prosecutors said.
Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao was indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas on charges of filing 22 false liens ranging from $25 million to $300 million against the officials, prosecutors said.
He also sought $20 billion in fraudulent tax refunds, prosecutors charged.
Cao resides in Orange County, Calif. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 223 years in prison and a fine of up to $5.75 million.
“Cao corruptly obstructed the administration of the federal tax laws, by, among other things, filing retaliatory false liens against IRS employees, filing and attempting to file with the IRS false Forms 1099-OID (Original Issue Discount) that claimed fictitious income tax withholdings, filing and attempting to file false tax returns that claim fraudulent refunds totaling approximately $20 billion, and preparing at least five false tax returns for third parties that claimed fraudulent income tax refunds totaling in excess of $1.1 million based upon fictitious income tax withholdings,” prosecutors said.
In June, Ronald James Davenport of Deer Park, Wash., was charged with filing false liens against federal officials in Washington state.
Davenport sought the spectacular sum of nearly $5.2 billion from each of the officials, including U.S. Attorney James McDevitt of the Eastern District of Washington, an assistant U.S. attorney, a court clerk and an IRS agent, according to court records.
Prosecutors described Davenport as a “tax defier.†Davenport has described himself in court filings as a “sovereign.â€
Some members of the alleged AdSurfDaily autosurf Ponzi scheme and other HYIP schemes have been linked to tax-deniers and the so-called “sovereign” movement.
See earlier story that references the Davenport action. (The story also provides some background on court filings and other actions by ASD members.)
In a civil case that preceded the criminal indictment against Davenport, Senior U.S. District Judge Justin L. Quackenbush ruled in May that the liens “were filed to retaliate against the officers for their good-faith efforts to enforce the tax laws against Mr. Davenport.â€
Quackenbush struck the liens, which were filed in the form of UCC Financing Statements with the Washington State Department of Licensing, according to records. The liens not only were fraudulent, but also contained “sensitive personal information†that violated privacy laws, the judge ruled.
Davenport also filed instruments dubbed “Notice[s] of Claim of Maritime Lien†with the Spokane County Auditor’s Office, according to records. Those, too, were struck.
The act of filing false liens or sending “demand” letters to officials or litigation opponents in a bid to hamstring civil and criminal prosecutions has been referred to as “paper terrorism” and “mailbox arbitration.”