Man creates $7,000,000 in counterfeit coins...

This guy's pretty slick. Everyone always tries to fake the bigger denomination bills and almost always gets caught. Seems this fellow was a bit smarter. He just created dollar coins. Looks like his ruse lasted for a while. Must've been one fun ride



(AP) RALEIGH, N.C. - Federal prosecutors on Monday tried to take a hoard of silver "Liberty Dollars" worth about $7 million that authorities say was invented by an Indiana man to compete with U.S. currency. Bernard von NotHaus, 67, was convicted last month in federal court in Statesville on conspiracy and counterfeiting charges for making and selling the currency, which he promoted as inflation-proof competition for the U.S. dollar.

His Charlotte-based lawyer, Aaron Michel, is appealing that verdict. He wrote in a motion filed Thursday that von NotHaus did nothing wrong because he didn't try to pass the Liberty Dollars off as U.S. dollars.

"The prosecutors successfully painted Mr. von NotHaus in a false light and now the U.S. Attorney responsible for the prosecution is painting the case in a false light, saying that it establishes that private voluntary barter currency is illegal," Michel wrote.

The trial was scheduled to resume Monday in Statesville. The case involves more than five tons of Liberty Dollars and precious metals seized from a warehouse, which the government wants to take by forfeiture, according to federal prosecutors and Michel.

Von NotHaus began issuing Liberty Dollars in 1998, as head of the Evansville, Ind.-based National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Code. In 2007, the group's headquarters were raided along with the Sunshine Mint in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, where the coins were made. The case is being tried in Statesville because one of the organization's top officers is based in Asheville, and because an undercover investigator made contact with the group in North Carolina.

Federal prosecutors successfully argued that von NotHaus was, in fact, trying to pass off the silver coins as U.S. currency. Coming in denominations of 5, 10, 20, and 50, the Liberty Dollars also featured a dollar sign, the word "dollar" and the motto "Trust in God," similar to the "In God We Trust" that appears on U.S. coins.

"Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism," U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said in a statement after von NotHaus was convicted.

Von NotHaus has argued it's not illegal to create currency to privately trade goods and services. He also has said his organization took pains to say the Liberty Dollars shouldn't be called "coins" and shouldn't be presented as government-minted cash. Among other benefits, Michel's motion argues, the Liberty Dollars were a means to help keep currency in local communities by creating networks of merchants and consumers who used the money.

Numerous cities and regions around the country have experimented with local currency, but laws restrict them from resembling U.S. bills or from being passed off as money printed by the federal government.

The concerns raised by von NotHaus and his group are finding resonance among some state lawmakers, too. About a dozen states have legislation that would allow them to produce their own currency backed by gold or silver in the event of hyperinflation striking the U.S. dollar. North and South Carolina are among those states.

That's partly why von NotHaus' group has been followed for years by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that tracks political extremism. Long before the government began its investigation into von NotHaus, the group was raising concerns about the popularity of Liberty Dollars among fringe groups on the far right.

"He's playing on a core idea of the radical right, that evil bankers in the Federal Reserve are ripping you off by controlling the money supply," said Mark Potok, spokesman for the group. "He very much exists in the world of the anti-government patriot movement, whatever he may say. That's who his customers are."

Von NotHaus is currently free on bond. If the conviction against him is upheld, he faces up to 25 years in prison and a fine of $750,000. A sentencing date has not been set yet.

He should pay the fine with coins.......

I disagree with the gov't. The coins are not presented as legitimate U.S. currency...........if that's the case.......hundreds of bullion mfg's are in deep s**t.

And the quote below is the weakest legal argument I have read in a long time.

"Federal prosecutors successfully argued that von NotHaus was, in fact, trying to pass off the silver coins as U.S. currency. Coming in denominations of 5, 10, 20, and 50, the Liberty Dollars also featured a dollar sign, the word "dollar" and the motto "Trust in God," similar to the "In God We Trust" that appears on U.S. coins.

Terra's Response:
The federal government has no copyright on the $ symbol........nor does it have soverign ownership rights on denomination amounts....the word 'dollar' is not from the U.S. government.....The word dollar is much older than the American unit of currency. It is an Anglicised form of "thaler", (pronounced taler, with a long "a"), the name given to coins first minted in 1519 from locally mined silver in Joachimsthal in Bohemia. Later on the English version of the name (dollar) was also applied to similar coins, not only ones minted in central Europe but also the Spanish peso and the Portuguese eight-real piece. Later on the English version of the name (dollar) was also applied to similar coins, not only ones minted in central Europe but also the Spanish peso and the Portuguese eight-real piece.
The motto "Trust in God," similar to the "In God We Trust...as argued by the Fed's.......that's not even close.......analyze copyright law to see if this weak accusation/association would hold any legal weight in a non-federal gov't legal case.
Google the pictures of this man's coinage...........it doesn't even look remotely close to any legal tender the U.S. government has ever minted. It looks like coinage the Franklin Mint...........or several dozen bullion mfg's have already produced. Are they getting charged by the Fed's???? There is something more nefarious on the part of the Fed's here, than what is being admitted to.

I love my country, up to and including my life. Same today, as I did when I served Her. But I have no love/trust for a government that is oppresive and use's less than honorable legal tactics/power to intimidate, coerce and seize a private citizens assets. Remember Adolph Hitler........his government pulled questionable illegal manuevers, similar in questionable legality, to this case. While citizens looked the other way. Don't ever think that it can't happen here!!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2011 02:47AM by TerraDigger.

Nice post TerraDigger.

Steve

If he had used the words Commemorative or Collectors coins it would have been harder for the Government to prosecute him.
He's been targeted because of his involvement as head of "National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Code"
Don't think for a second that they don't have a woody for this guy.
The Federal Income tax was never ratified by congress and it is not really legal by our own rule of law.

Thanks for tip. I figured something was up. I only read the original post here....before I responded with my post.

Nice posts Terra and Grant,
You guys hit it on the head, the feds have no reason to prosecute this guy except for their private interests. I love my country but am embarrassed by the tactics used by them and their organizations such as the forest service and fish and game. When did we start letting people we did not vote for start regulating us. Sad to say it but it is no longer the land of the free but the land of the all mighty dollar and who has the best lawyer.
Be Well

This is one guy , and its only $7,000,000 !!....... .The government just wants to lock this guy up, and their charges are bogus ........ What do you think happens when there is more at stake than $7 Mil ? ....... Ask the Kennedy's !!......Jim

synthnut Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is one guy , and its only $7,000,000
> !!....... .The government just wants to lock this
> guy up, and their charges are bogus ........ What
> do you think happens when there is more at stake
> than $7 Mil ? ....... Ask the Kennedy's
> !!......Jim

I think you are referring to this: [www.john-f-kennedy.net]

On June 4, 1963, a little known attempt was made to strip the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the government at interest. On that day President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order No. 11110 that returned to the U.S. government the power to issue currency, without going through the Federal Reserve. Mr. Kennedy's order gave the Treasury the power "to issue silver certificates against any silver bullion, silver, or standard silver dollars in the Treasury." This meant that for every ounce of silver in the U.S. Treasury's vault, the government could introduce new money into circulation. In all, Kennedy brought nearly $4.3 billion in U.S. notes into circulation. The ramifications of this bill are enormous.

With the stroke of a pen, Mr. Kennedy was on his way to putting the Federal Reserve Bank of New York out of business. If enough of these silver certificats were to come into circulation they would have eliminated the demand for Federal Reserve notes. This is because the silver certificates are backed by silver and the Federal Reserve notes are not backed by anything. Executive Order 11110 could have prevented the national debt from reaching its current level, because it would have given the gevernment the ability to repay its debt without going to the Federal Reserve and being charged interest in order to create the new money. Executive Order 11110 gave the U.S. the ability to create its own money backed by silver.

After Mr. Kennedy was assassinated just five months later, no more silver certificates were issued. The Final Call has learned that the Executive Order was never repealed by any U.S. President through an Executive Order and is still valid. Why then has no president utilized it? Virtually all of the nearly $6 trillion in debt has been created since 1963, and if a U.S. president had utilized Executive Order 11110 the debt would be nowhere near the current level. Perhaps the assassination of JFK was a warning to future presidents who would think to eliminate the U.S. debt by eliminating the Federal Reserve's control over the creation of money. Mr. Kennedy challenged the government of money by challenging the two most successful vehicles that have ever been used to drive up debt - war and the creation of money by a privately-owned central bank. His efforts to have all troops out of Vietnam by 1965 and Executive Order 11110 would have severely cut into the profits and control of the New York banking establishment.

Amen Again!


((((( "FEDERAL" is to imply = 'Government'.....or....at least.....quasi-Government; yet, it is not.
"RESERVE" is to imply = Ft. Knox.................no such thing (anymore).

Federal Reserve bank notes are 'private bank' notes.

Federal Reserve was created in 1913 by the 'top 7' ))))).

This will go away quicky, just as the story of the two men sneaking in Switzerland with BILLIONS in bonds. ( that WERE legitimate...)

Looks like we are part of the 'radical right'.....I know that if I had the choice between federal reserve notes and Bernard's silver coins I know which ones I would take......and which ones actually have value.

Does that mean my "Mattel" Monopoly money could be bogus???? LOL

On second thought, this is not the place for the rant I originally posted. Suffice it to say that this situation and many others similar to it really piss me off.

Chris



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2011 10:46PM by Neugene.

[www.bloomberg.com]



"The University of Texas Investment Management Co., the second-largest U.S. academic endowment, took delivery of almost $1 billion in gold bullion and is storing the bars in a New York vault, according to the fund’s board."

.........


The decision to turn the fund’s investment into gold bars was influenced by Kyle Bass, a Dallas hedge fund manager and member of the endowment’s board, Zimmerman said at its annual meeting on April 14. Bass made $500 million on the U.S. subprime-mortgage collapse.

"Central banks are printing more money than they ever have, so what’s the value of money in terms of purchases of goods and services,” Bass said yesterday in a telephone interview. "I look at gold as just another currency that they can’t print any more of.”

that guy lives 20 minutes from me and i knew nothing about this. its funny he lives so close and i have never seen or heard of those coins. would be nice to have one.