Self-Proclaimed President Of Sovereign Citizen Nation Gets 18 Years For Peddling Seminars Teaching Attendees How To Create Phony Bonds To Pay Income Taxes, File Retaliatory Liens Against Gov't Officials Who Interfered With Processing The Fictitious Instruments

From the U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.):

• The Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the FBI announced [] that James Timothy Turner, also known as Tim Turner, was sentenced to serve 18 years in federal prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States, attempting to pay taxes with fictitious financial instruments, attempting to obstruct and impede the IRS, failing to file a 2009 federal income tax return and falsely testifying under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding.
  
  In March 2013, following a five-day jury trial, Turner was convicted on 10 counts in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
  
  Based on the evidence introduced at trial and in court filings, Turner, the self-proclaimed “president” of the sovereign citizen group Republic for the united States of America (RuSA), traveled the country in 2008 and 2009 conducting seminars teaching attendees how to defraud the IRS by preparing and submitting fictitious bonds to the U.S. government in payment of federal taxes, mortgages, and other debt.
  
  The evidence at trial revealed the bonds are fictitious and worthless but witnesses testified that Turner used special paper, financial terminology and elaborate borders in an effort to make them look authentic and more likely to succeed in defrauding the recipient. Turner was convicted of sending a $300 million fictitious bond in his own name and of aiding and abetting others in sending fifteen other fictitious bonds to the Treasury Department to pay taxes and other debts.
  
  The evidence at trial also established that Turner taught people how to file retaliatory liens against government officials who interfered with the processing of fictitious bonds. Turner filed a purported $17.6 billion maritime lien in Montgomery County, Ala., Probate Court against another individual.
  
  This investigation began after Turner and three other self-proclaimed “Guardian Elders” sent demands to all 50 governors in the United States in March 2010 ordering each governor to resign within three days to be replaced by a “sovereign” leader or be “removed.” The FBI immediately began investigating Turner and IRS- Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) joined the investigation soon thereafter.

For the Justice Department press release, see Self-proclaimed Leader of Sovereign Citizen Group Sentenced to Federal Prison for Promoting Tax Fraud Scheme.