Liberty Dollar Defendant Convicted Of Minting Own Currency

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jewellge Valued Member United States 193 Posts	Posted 03/20/2011 7:03 pm Department of Justice Press Release For Immediate Release March 18, 2011 United States Attorney's Office Western District of North Carolina Contact: (704) 344-6222 Defendant Convicted of Minting His Own Currency STATESVILLE, NC--Bernard von NotHaus, 67, was convicted today by a federal jury of making, possessing, and selling his own coins, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Following an eight-day trial and less than two hours of deliberation, von NotHaus, the founder and monetary architect of a currency known as the Liberty Dollar, was found guilty by a jury in Statesville, North Carolina, of making coins resembling and similar to United States coins; of issuing, passing, selling, and possessing Liberty Dollar coins; of issuing and passing Liberty Dollar coins intended for use as current money; and of conspiracy against the United States. The guilty verdict concluded an investigation which began in 2005 and involved the minting of Liberty Dollar coins with a current value of approximately $7 million. Joining the U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins in making today's announcement are Edward J. Montooth, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Charlotte Division; Russell F. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Division; and Sheriff Van Duncan of the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office. According to the evidence introduced during the trial, von NotHaus was the founder of an organization called the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Code, commonly known as NORFED and also known as Liberty Services. Von NotHaus was the president of NORFED and the executive director of Liberty Dollar Services, Inc. until on or about September 30, 2008. Von NotHaus designed the Liberty Dollar currency in 1998 and the Liberty coins were marked with the dollar sign ($); the words dollar, USA, Liberty, Trust in God (instead of In God We Trust); and other features associated with legitimate U.S. coinage. Since 1998, NORFED has been issuing, disseminating, and placing into circulation the Liberty Dollar in all its forms throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. NORFED's purpose was to mix Liberty Dollars into the current money of the United States. NORFED intended for the Liberty Dollar to be used as current money in order to limit reliance on, and to compete with, United States currency. In coordination with the Department of Justice, on September 14, 2006, the United States Mint issued a press release and warning to American citizens that the Liberty Dollar was "not legal tender." The U.S. Mint press release and public service announcement stated that the Department of Justice had determined that the use of Liberty Dollars as circulating money was a federal crime. Article I, section 8, clause 5 of the United States Constitution delegates to Congress the power to coin money and to regulate the value thereof. This power was delegated to Congress in order to establish and preserve a uniform standard of value and to insure a singular monetary system for all purchases and debts in the United States, public and private. Along with the power to coin money, Congress has the concurrent power to restrain the circulation of money which is not issued under its own authority in order to protect and preserve the constitutional currency for the benefit of all citizens of the nation. It is a violation of federal law for individuals, such as von NotHaus, or organizations, such as NORFED, to create private coin or currency systems to compete with the official coinage and currency of the United States. Von NotHaus, who remains free on bond, faces a sentence of up to 15 years' imprisonment on count two of the indictment and a fine of not more than $250,000. Von NotHaus faces a prison sentence of five years and fines of $250,000 on both counts one and three. In addition, the United States is seeking the forfeiture of approximately 16,000 pounds of Liberty Dollar coins and precious metals, currently valued at nearly $7 million. The forfeiture trial, which began today before United States District Court Judge Richard Voorhees, will resume on April 4, 2011 in the federal courthouse in Statesville. Judge Voorhees has not yet set a date for the sentencing of von NotHaus. "Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism," U.S. Attorney Tompkins said in announcing the verdict. "While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country," she added. "We are determined to meet these threats through infiltration, disruption, and dismantling of organizations which seek to challenge the legitimacy of our democratic form of government." The case was investigated by the FBI, Buncombe County Sheriff's Department, and the U.S. Secret Service, in cooperation with and invaluable assistance of the United States Mint. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jill Westmoreland Rose and Craig D. Randall, and the forfeiture trial is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tom Ascik and Ben Bain Creed. Title edited for better visibility - Sap Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16808 Posts	Posted 03/20/2011 8:40 pm Excellent. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
Darth Anarchus Pillar of the Community United States 1388 Posts	Posted 03/20/2011 10:39 pm ... If you can hear me, it's a standing ovation for the Prosecution... It's about time he comes to justice Report this Post to the Staff
Secret Argent Man Valued Member United States 320 Posts	Posted 03/21/2011 01:55 am I'd been "kind of" following this for a while, and hadn't read up any on the specifics of late, but overall from what I have read I'm inclined to go with the defendant. I don't think the liberty dollars were ever intended to fool anyone and I am of the opinion that whether it's $1, the barter system, or an "I'll owe you a beer," any transaction willingly entered into by two parties is fine by me. Now, if anyone attempted to force this to be used as currency, or misrepresented it as legal tender, then absolutely... but as I understood it this was a voluntary system and no such shenanigans went on, which makes a difference in my book. Having said that, I do expect that it would make it harder to tax, and I take a dim view of people routinely trying to avoid their obligations on that score. SO if that's the "real" reason for this (which I suspect it is) I can see it and support the prosecution but I wish they'd just call a spade a spade and be done. This business of calling him a terrorist is a little over the top. Report this Post to the Staff
biggfredd Rest in Peace United States 9104 Posts	Posted 03/21/2011 9:14 pm For a bunch of background on these "coins", go to http://www.deja.com and search for notfed or norfed. The original game was $10 coins, and they'd sell to you for $7.50 each, with about $4 silver content. Much bragging about how they were accepted by merchants, services, even as fines. Yeah, an overpriced business might allow you to "spend" ten for $100, but you could prolly have dickered them down to $40 anyway. Problem was, if someone accumulated $100,000 face and needed a $100,000 operation, no doctor or hospital wanted them. Worse, you couldn't sell them back to norfed, not even at $75,000. Ultimately, your only option was to sell to a silver dealer, at a 60% loss. They were sold pyramid style to market makers who were happy to sell them, but would never give a straight answer to people who asked how they could "redeem" them, other than to pass them to another ~~sucker~~ hard money advocate. Edited by biggfredd 03/21/2011 9:15 pm Report this Post to the Staff
IBGolden Pillar of the Community Canada 598 Posts	Posted 03/21/2011 9:41 pm Some gold, copper and silver pics.(posted somewhere before) Got a silver because of the Ron Paul controversy... what the hey . And never thought of them as anything more than bullion rounds. Then the controversy and the price/value kept going up. Edited by IBGolden 03/21/2011 9:43 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Ugly Pillar of the Community Canada 1733 Posts	Posted 03/21/2011 11:54 pm I'm all for more micro mint action, but in my opinion by using all the key terms they did, by using the marketing they did, they were trying to deceive. Contrast this with micro maker of medallions Lasqueti Mint http://www.lqmint.com/ . Here's a company making precious medal art, they label it as such, tell you how much metal each coin contains and set a price. What you do with it at that point is up to you. I'm sure you could negotiate it with someone in exchange for some good or service, but they're not pretending it's some kind of money that has a willing acceptance system and value beyond it's metal. There's just no denomination on it at all. That I believe is a right reserved for the governments under current legislation. Report this Post to the Staff
ayejay1974 Valued Member United States 314 Posts	Posted 03/23/2011 06:40 am I think its a bunch of hookah and trumped up charges. If they are so worried about laws, why don't they get the entire federal reserve for going against our constitution which clearly states legal tender shall be gold and silver only? Report this Post to the Staff
Bryan1315 Bedrock of the Community United States 14454 Posts	Posted 03/23/2011 11:24 am this is the "BIG" news around here. I think everyone around here has followed this from the time we heard he was being investigated. I knew when he started getting so well known with his "NORFED" dollar it would mean trouble but I also think they carried it a little to far in some areas. I think where he went wrong is when he had followers accepting these NORFED Dollars as payment for items purchased, which put them in competition with the US Dollar. If he had just kept selling them as silver rounds I don't think there would have been all these problems for him. His arrest made these NORFED Dollars famous and some of them were selling for stupid money on ebay Report this Post to the Staff
TenSense Valued Member United States 364 Posts	Posted 03/24/2011 12:08 pm I bought two Norfed rounds -- 1oz silver each -- I picked up for $18 a piece about a year and a half ago; had no idea what I was buying other than a generic silver round. Now they are going on ebay for $55+! Report this Post to the Staff
junior e Pillar of the Community United States 931 Posts	Posted 04/14/2011 1:56 pm I just bought a 1/2 oz Ron Paul $25 the other day for $23. Not only is the price right in line with current silver price levels, but I picked up a controversial and historic proof election token for current melt price. In my opinion they overstepped their boundaries by persecuting this man. He was making a political statement and rubbed the "authorities" the wrong way. Exactly which United States numismatic issue do these medals resemble? None that I've ever seen. Not only are the Fed and U.S. Treasury grinding what's left of our greenback into the dirt, the government is stealing away the few Constitutional freedoms that we have left. The only good thing that is coming out of their actions is the elevation of silver and gold market prices. The writing is on the wall for these markets to sustain their upward climb eclipsing the hint of value that our fiat currency has left. I for one am still a daily buyer of metal commodities with the savings that I worked for years to stash away. I love America, but our leaders are making a lot of wrong turns in my humble opinion. Report this Post to the Staff
biggfredd Rest in Peace United States 9104 Posts	Posted 04/14/2011 4:07 pm He called the liberty "dollars" and gave them a face value, then implied that they could be "spent" for that amount. If he called them liberty units or provided a way for them to be redeemed for money, he might have been OK. Report this Post to the Staff
Sprucansailor Valued Member United States 188 Posts	Posted 04/14/2011 4:30 pm They are just trying to make a statement. That is all. Could you take one of these things into a store and buy some bread or whatever? No way any store clerk would accept them. The government hates competition. Are they going to go after Utah for legalizing silver coins? Are they going to go after Joe and John for trading some Orange Juice for fresh eggs? It is wrong to go after this fellow, he did not make anything that could possibly be confused with legal tender. As far as I know "Liberty Dollar" is not trademarked. Why tell him what to call his product? People need a reality check. They are stomping all over his rights and, by extension, yours and mine as well. Report this Post to the Staff
biggfredd Rest in Peace United States 9104 Posts	Posted 04/14/2011 7:37 pm He was making far more than a statement. They had a complete "banking system", with distributors who would pay $7 or so for $4 in silver and sell it for $10 to people who were told how the "coins" could be "spent" for $10. They were never very clear about why anyone would want to pay $10 for $5 worth of silver round, so that they could convince someone else to take it for $10, instead of just handing them the $10 bill. Report this Post to the Staff
Ugly Pillar of the Community Canada 1733 Posts	Posted 04/14/2011 9:22 pm The statement he was making was "make me rich... suckers" Report this Post to the Staff
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