Sovereign Citizen Movement, 'Paper Terrorism' & Bogus Lien Extortion Rackets Involving Billion$

CBS' '60 Minutes' recently did a story on the 'sovereign citizen' movement, a a group of Americans that have little regard for the police or the courts and who the FBI lists among the nation's top domestic terror threats. One of the tactics they have been known to engage in when they get thwarted in their attempts to beat the system is referred to as "paper terrorism."

An excerpt:

• But when those efforts to beat the system fail, a sovereign citizen will often seek retribution. The weapon of choice is paper. For example, when a sovereign has a run-in with the law, they might file a lien or financial claim against the personal assets of the police officer or the judge involved. It's easy to file and you don't even need a lawyer. The sovereign never collects, but the target of the lien can have their credit ruined. The practice has been called "paper terrorism."
• "I have liens against me in three states in this country for a half a billion dollars," Robert Vosper, the town justice in tiny Rosendale, N.Y., told Pitts. Vosper thought there was something odd about a defendant named Richard Ulloa, who appeared in his court room over a misdemeanor traffic offense.
• Ulloa refused to cooperate during his arraignment, so Vosper set bail. And that's when Ulloa inundated Vosper's court with paper. "We're talking a couple of pieces of paper?" Pitts asked.
• "No, no, it was 20, 30 sheets he would crank out on his computer of quasi-lookin' - like if a layperson looked at it, you would say, 'Boy, this guy's pretty good. Look at all the law in here,'" Vosper explained. "But you looked at it and thought what?" Pitts asked. "Gobbledygook," Vosper replied.
• Eventually, Ulloa and two other sovereign citizens filed liens against Judge Vosper and other local officials in excess of $1.24 trillion. The three men were convicted on federal mail fraud charges.(1)

For the full story, see A look at the "sovereign citizen" movement.

Go here for other posts on sovereign citizens and "paper terrorists."

(1) See Feds Indict Trio In Alleged $1.24 Trillion Bogus Lien Extortion Racket Targeting Government Officials, Bank Executives.

For a civil lawsuit filed in this case that describes this racket in more detail, see County of Ulster, New York, et al. v. Ulloa, et al.