BULLETIN: James Timothy Turner, Purported ‘President’ Of Purported ‘Republic for the united States of America’ (RuSA), Sentenced To 18 Years In Federal Prison

James Timothy “Tim” Turner, a purported “sovereign citizen” and the purported “President” of a shadow government known as the “Republic for the united States of America” (RuSA), has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison in a bizarre tax scam in which he was convicted of conspiring to defraud the IRS and teaching others to do so.

In a particularly bizarre display of magical thinking, Turner and three other purported “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 Justice Department said.

Investigations by the FBI and IRS soon began, the agency said.

“This lengthy prison sentence shows that tax defiers like Turner who use bogus tax schemes and file retaliatory liens against government officials will be punished,” said Kathryn Keneally, assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

Added Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart of the Middle District of Alabama: “This sentence should send a message that if you attempt to use retaliatory tax liens and fraudulent tax schemes as weapons against the United States and its citizens you will be punished.”

A top IRS official, meanwhile, said Turner espoused a “false ideology.”

“Turner influenced others with his false ideology by aggressively promoting obstruction of the IRS,” said Richard Weber,  chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “In truth, Turner’s own defiance of IRS and his attempts to lead others through the same labyrinth of lies and distortions led to his downfall as shown by the significant sentence he must now serve.”

From a statement by the Justice Department (italics added):

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.