Mark Manuel convicted

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Lambkin
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Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Lambkin »

In February.
http://wonkette.com/545765/tennessee-so ... eral-money
So anyhow, here is a teevee report from Nashville’s channel 4 about a nice gentleman named Mark Manuel, of Franklin, Tennessee, who was convicted in federal court in February along with two others, in a multi-million-dollar scheme to “eliminate” people’s debts through a bunch of phony legal filings — all the debtors had to do was hand over a whole lot more money to the trio, who promised to use secret federal accounts to pay off the debts. As a result, a lot of people took out credit card advances or second mortgages to pay the bogus fees, and several victims ended up losing everything; the three ripped off at least 250 people nationwide. And of course, even though federal money is worthless, the group happily accepted it from their victims. Isn’t sovereignty a beautiful thing?
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Lambkin »

The full FBI press release
http://www.fbi.gov/columbia/press-relea ... ion-scheme
Three Men Convicted of Defrauding Customers Through Bogus Debt Elimination Scheme
U.S. Attorney’s Office February 07, 2014

District of South Carolina (803) 929-3000

COLUMBIA, SC—Bill Nettles, United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina, announced today that Jerry Elmo Hartsoe, age 57, of West Columbia; James Chappel Dew, age 59, of North Myrtle Beach; and Mark Shannon Manuel, age 49, of Franklin, Tennessee, were found guilty after a jury trial on eight counts of mail fraud. Jerry Hartsoe was also convicted on one count of providing false information to the FBI. Facts presented at trial proved that the three men defrauded victims through their West Columbia business, Eden Gifted Properties. The men claimed to be able to eliminate their customers’ debt using a series of secret government accounts.

According to the testimony presented in the case, Hartsoe, Manuel, and Dew claimed to have access to a secret government account worth approximately $100 billion. For a fee or “donation” of 10 percent of the value of the debt, the men claimed to be able to satisfy and pay off mortgages, credit cards, and any other types of debt. Using connections within various religious and political groups, the defendants traveled across the United States to host seminars and presentations. After identifying potential victims at these seminars and presentations, the defendants would solicit several thousand dollars from each and begin mailing a series of bogus documents to banks and other lenders. According to testimony, the men defrauded hundreds of thousands of dollars from more than 250 victims. Witnesses testified that the men encouraged customers to seek cash advances from credit cards and to raid retirement accounts in order to pay Eden Gifted Properties’ fees. Many of the customers have been subject to foreclosure and have now lost their homes.

Claims made by the men during the trial are similar to arguments presented by so-called sovereign citizens. Sovereign citizens are U.S. citizens who reject their citizenship status and claim that the government is operating outside its jurisdiction. They generally do not recognize the authority of federal, state, or local governments and renounce their obligation to adhere to the laws, policies, or regulations created by those governments.

Sentencing in the case has been scheduled for May 14, 2014, and all three men face possible sentences of 30 years’ imprisonment and fines of $250,000 per defendant.

The investigation and convictions were pursued in furtherance of the FBI’s national strategy aimed at disrupting the criminal activity of individuals claiming to be sovereign citizens and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney T. DeWayne Pearson and John Potterfield of the Columbia office.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Lambkin »

I can't get enough of this.
http://www.wsmv.com/story/25168152/sove ... -for-fraud
In a deposition in the Smith case, Manuel was asked if he was, in fact, Mark Manuel, and seemed to question the identity in the government records.

"What is your name?" the attorney asked.

"What is not your name?" Manuel responded.

"No, what is your name?" the attorney asked.

"What is not your name?" Manuel repeated.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Pottapaug1938 »

That deposition must have been the legal world's answer to "Who's On First."
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

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If you really can't get enough of this guy, Lambkin, you'll love this stuff.

As Lambkin wrote, this was a prosecution for a debt elimination scheme. The full view from the govt trial memo:
James Chappell Dew Jr., Mark Shannon Manuel, Jerry Elmo Hartsoe and Ronald Kevin Hayes have engaged in an ongoing scheme to mail fictitious financial documents to various banks and lenders around the United States through a company called Eden Gifted Properties (EGP) and Hakunamatata for All. EGP uses sovereign citizen rhetoric and tactics in an effort to convince victims that EGP will be able to eliminate their debt through a series of complicated financial filings and letters. Approximately 260 victims from multiple states have been identified. The following is a summary of the fraud scheme used by the defendants to trick their victims into paying for the bogus debt elimination system.

The defendants rely on a frequently discredited theory called “Redemption.” “Redemption” is a scheme that utilizes commercial law to harass, confuse and slow down its targets. The theory advocates that an individual can “redeem” himself through the filing of commercial documents, typically using Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing statements. The theory further holds that “redemption” allows the person to then access a government financial account with unlimited funds. According to the theory, a person has a split personality, an actual human being and a fictional person called a “strawman.” The “strawman” was created under the erroneous belief that when the United States went off the gold standard in 1933 it pledged its citizens as collateral for the national debt. The theory holds that the real person can “redeem” the fictional “strawman” by filing a UCC financing statement. “Redemption” advocates assert that since the strawman serves as collateral for the national debt, then the “redemption” of their personal strawman allows them to access funds directly from the United States Treasury using the Federal Reserve. Further, proponents of the theory assert that the government only has power over the strawman and not the real person. These individuals also erroneously assert that all conflicts are commercial and private in nature and therefore governed by the UCC. Therefore, they claim that they are not bound by any federal, state, or local law.

Using connections within various religious, social, and political groups, the defendants traveled across the United States on multiple occasions to host seminars and presentations. After identifying potential victims at these seminars and presentations, the defendants would solicit several thousand dollars from their victims under the auspices of “making a donation to EGP.” After being paid by the victims, the defendants would mail a series of bogus documents to banks, lenders and other financial institutions, claiming that the victims’ debt was satisfied based on the redemption theory. In an effort to confuse and slow the debt collection process, EGP would make numerous packet mailings containing copious amounts of documents with legalistic sounding names. The documents included “registered bonded promissory notes” and “money orders” and were crafted in such a way as to make them appear to be capable of drawing funds off the United States Government. These documents were mailed to multiple high ranking executives of the banks and contained nonsensical instructions on how to use the fraudulent bonds to pay the debt of EGP customers. The documents sent by EGP were worthless and did not eliminate any of the victims’ debt. The defendants continued to send these bogus financial instruments through the United States Mail despite receiving numerous letters and warnings from banks and lenders that the documents were fraudulent and worthless. The defendants failed to notify or instruct the victims that EGP’s system did not eliminate any debt. Further, the defendants continued to require and receive monetary payments from the victims, despite knowing that the system did not eliminate any debt. A typical package mailed by EGP contained over 50 fraudulent documents and were mailed multiple times to different financial institutions for each EGP customer. Each package was sent via either certified or registered mail.

The FBI cultivated both a Cooperating Human Source (CHS) and an Undercover Employee (UCE) in the investigation. The CHS attended a Columbia area meeting of the Republic of the united States of America (RuSA). The RuSA is a sovereign citizen organization that does not recognize the authority of the United States Government and adheres to the “redemption” theory. During this meeting, Hartsoe gave an overview of the EGP debt elimination process, including the cost of the service and the location of EGP offices. The UCE then attended an additional private meeting with EGP where the process was pitched by Dew. At the direction of the FBI, the CHS provided Dew with the name and contact information for the FBI UCE. Hartsoe contacted the UCE and began the sales pitch. Hartsoe exchanged numerous telephone calls and had multiple email conversations with the UCE in an effort to recruit him as a customer.
I was going to move the topic, sovrun rumblings notwithstanding, to the Advance Fee Fraud forum until I saw the reference to the RuSA. Go RuSA!

Anyway, Manuel adhered to conventional freeloader process - a taxpayer-paid lawyer - until he got convicted in February. Then he went full-colon - 27 pages of sovrun gibberish. The whole nine yards: he wants everyone's bond; he's entitled to billions in reparations; he's his own "authorized representative"; the District Court is a Delaware corporation; the AUSA, the Court and his own lawyer all committed federal crimes (for which he demands prosecution); and, last but hardly least, the Court has no jurisdiction over him, a matter on which he demands an "immediate hearing".

Judge Currie has accommodated Manuel by setting a hearing for April 17. Following the verdict, he had left Manuel free on bond pending sentence. I wonder if that will continue, now that Manuel refuses to recognize the Court's authority?

I know what I'd do.
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grixit
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by grixit »

I wonder if any of these judges are latent telekinetics. Perhaps someday, a sovrun will trigger one and get the full Carrie treatment.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by GlimDropper »

Fraud defendants want extremist group reference nixed from indictment

By David Wren

dwren@thesunnews.comJuly 18, 2013

MYRTLE BEACH — Two defendants in a criminal case with ties to the anti-government Republic for the united States of America want prosecutors to delete a reference to the group in an indictment charging them with mail fraud, saying any reference to the organization is irrelevant and could harm their chances for a fair trial.

The indictment issued last month states that defendant Jerry Elmo Hartsoe recruited clients for a mortgage rescue scam at RuSA meetings, adding that RuSA “is a group espousing sovereign citizen ideology that does not recognize the authority of the United States government.”

Hartsoe and co-defendant Mark Shannon Manuel filed motions to strike that reference from the indictment, saying RuSA’s ideology has nothing to do with the mail fraud charges.

“The indictment alleges mail fraud,” Louis Lang, a Columbia lawyer representing Manuel, stated in one of the motions. “The indictment’s description of the philosophical or ideological bent of RuSA is irrelevant to the offenses charged and is highly inflammatory and prejudicial and should be stricken.”
Anti-government extremists, man with blue skin make for bizarre federal trial in Columbia

By NOELLE PHILLIPS

nophillips@thestate.com February 5, 2014

COLUMBIA, SC — Three men with alleged ties to an anti-government extremist group who eschew the authority of the U.S. government are on trial this week in federal court in a fraud case that has people talking.

One feature in the case, which has nothing to do with the criminal charges, is the ashy blue color of one defendant’s face, a permanent discoloration caused by drinking a chemical.

<Snip>

Besides the unusual beliefs of the defendants, it is Hartsoe’s appearance that has turned heads at the courthouse.

His face has a steely blue tint because he drank a mixture of colloidal silver and zinc, said James Craig, his attorney. The concoction was recommended as a cure for an illness by a chemist, he said.

“It’s permanent,” Craig said.
You can't make this stuff up.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Lambkin »

GlimDropper wrote:
Besides the unusual beliefs of the defendants, it is Hartsoe’s appearance that has turned heads at the courthouse.

His face has a steely blue tint because he drank a mixture of colloidal silver and zinc, said James Craig, his attorney. The concoction was recommended as a cure for an illness by a chemist, he said.

“It’s permanent,” Craig said.
You can't make this stuff up.
It's unsurprising to see the intersection of sovereign baloney and alt-med quackery like colloidal silver.

As if on cue: http://www.infowarsshop.com/Silver-Bull ... _1284.html

I was just thinking, though, that phiz is not going to play well with a jury. I haven't seen him but others I have seen look like some kind of alien zombie like from an original Star Trek episode.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

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Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term "Blue man Group.

All kidding aside, I think I've come across this particular individual in some other topic, after all, there aren't too many blue sovrun loonies running around loose, just can't remember the exact context, although I do think it was in relation to mortgage removal, but part of it was about silver now that it comes to it, and its benefits, I kid you not.

Yep, genuine sovrun gibber jabber.

I am kind of interested in the defensiveness towards RUSA very interesting to say the least.

While I seriously doubt that RUSA is actively funding or supporting these guys, they're not that organized, it does make me wonder. Don't I remember that our good buddy Kelby Smith was into redemption/mortgage elimination type scams big time? Does make one wonder.
The fact that you sincerely and wholeheartedly believe that the “Law of Gravity” is unconstitutional and a violation of your sovereign rights, does not absolve you of adherence to it.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Montana Notasovrun »

after all, there aren't too many blue sovrun loonies running around loose....

We have a blue "constitutionalist" here in Montana. Same stuff - colloidial silver...He kinda regrets where he's been with this as he now needs to be on SSD, but never paid in anything. I don't know that he made that much, but he's turning out like a lot of the sovruns.... virtually penniless, but principled. Danged if I can figure out what principles that are embraced. Can a lost cause be a principle?
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Jeffrey »

Was this guy on any of our radars?
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Demosthenes »

Jerry Hartsoe's mom is Nellie Hartsoe, and she appeared as a client name in a 2009 civil injunction against OID promoter Karen Liane Miller.
In February 2009, Miller prepared and electronically filed a Form 1040 (2008) for Nellie K. Hartsoe of West Columbia, South Carolina. On that tax return, Miller falsely claimed that Hartsoe had earned interest income of $525,562 from Countrywide Bank ($127,800), Citifinancial Inc. ($10,000), State Credit Union ($24,400), HFC Subsidiaries ($153,545), Ascent Home Loans Inc. ($127,800), and Wachovia Bank ($82,017). Additionally, Miller falsely claimed that Hartsoe had income tax withholding of $526,190, even through the IRS could only independently corroborate withholding in the amount of $663. With these false income and withholding figures, Miller fraudulently claimed for Hartsoe an overstated refund of $354,947, which was erroneously issued and wired into Hartsoe’s checking account.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

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Jeffrey wrote:Was this guy on any of our radars?
If you remember the Restore America Plan that was set up by the Guardians of the Free Republics (the precursor to RuSA,) Mark Manuel was the lead signature for Tennessee on that stupid nationwide common law grand jury threat that was sent to the governors in 2010 telling them to leave their office or else...
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Demosthenes »

I also have this reference from July 2013.
In another case, brothers identified as Greg Manuel, Mark Manuel and Mike Manuel were accused of running a Ponzi scheme in which they allegedly used a Franklin church to cheat people out of their life savings.

All three are self-proclaimed sovereign citizens who believe the law doesn't apply to them.
All three brothers were RuSA grand jurors and all have an interesting occupation...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Manuel
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by notorial dissent »

So, it would appear that they were involved with RUSA, at least peripherally, despite what they are wanting to claim. I'm still wondering if Kelby Smith was also involved with them.
The fact that you sincerely and wholeheartedly believe that the “Law of Gravity” is unconstitutional and a violation of your sovereign rights, does not absolve you of adherence to it.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by LPC »

Jeffrey wrote:Was this guy on any of our radars?
You had to go and ask, an invitation for her to show off her super-radar.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Gregg »

Super Radar isn't doing it justice, I was thinking archival omnipotence.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by fortinbras »

Mark-Shannon: Manuel is connected to the RuSA, but wanted all mention of RuSA censored during his trial. A demonstration that this career con-man knew his miserable reputation would be pulled down further if RuSA were mentioned.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/0 ... emist.html


It's easy to confuse Mark Shannon Manuel with a Mark T. Manuel Jr. who evidently was convicted of mail fraud in Pennsylvania in 2004, served time in prison, was put on parole with prohibitions against drug use, self-employment, or any work involving anyone's financial data .... you'll never guess what were three things he kept doing. So there was a parole revocation hearing, at which he insisted on representing himself ... you'll also never guess how successful he was. He then appealed for a new hearing on the grounds that he should not have been allowed to represent himself despite his own insistence ... and you'll never guess .....

US v. Mark T. Manuel, Jr. (3rd Cir., Oct. 17, 2013) 732 F.3d 283
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case? ... 4440969609

As for that bit of video where Mark Shannon Manuel is asked "What is your name?" and he keeps answering "What is not my name." This is, in fact, his idea of a new twist on the old Abbott & Costello routine "Who's on first". Manuel is treating it as if the lawyer is making a statement that he is denying: Watt is your name. No, Watt is not my name.
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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by Hilfskreuzer Möwe »

It appears Dew, Hartsoe, and Shannon received sentences of 10 years:
Not a lot of additional and new information in this report.

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Re: Mark Manuel convicted

Post by grixit »

Someone i know is trying to get into the music industry. A couple of days ago, he said he had found someone who might want to sing his songs. It was Mike Manuel. Today he sent me an email saying he had found out the Mike Manuel was a crook. So i looked him up-- dang, how did i forget about him?

Thing is, there seems to be no news between his conviction and his apparent resumption of his successful gospel/country career.

So, does anyone know if he ever repaid the people he cheated?
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