# Sovereign Citizens-- Please tell me this is fake **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 24, 2016, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572 "2016-10-24T07:38:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 89
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1761 "2026-06-04T02:04:49Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > and quite possibly his own grandpa. That only creates inbreeding if time travel is involved. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1762 "2026-06-04T12:00:06Z")
[Verily](https://youtu.be/64n4EVeU71Y?si=xjDppTCskzrlfxss&t=9). ---
**Author:** ![zoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71c47a/32.png) [@zoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoo)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1763 "2026-06-20T19:31:40Z")
Arthur: Your Great Grandfather? Zaphod Beeblebrox the fourth? Zaphod: There was an accident with a contraceptive and a time machine. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1764 "2026-08-04T15:44:07Z")
This comes under the heading of “nice try, but no dice”. A sovereign citizen walks into a bank in Ohio and tries to open an account with $1.6 million in bogus checks supposedly drawn on a Federal Reserve account in St. Louis, only the Federal Reserve doesn’t offer personal accounts and “Federal” was misspelled on the checks, which might be considered a “tell”. He also presented a fake passport as ID and drove to the bank in a vehicle with bogus plates while not having a drivers license, which he didn’t need because he’s an “internationally protected person”. He wound up getting indicted for multiple crimes including counterfeiting and attempted theft. Oh well, maybe you can get to the video this way (denouement is at about 20:30): > ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1765 "2026-08-04T16:09:50Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > and “Federal” was misspelled on the checks, which might be considered a “tell”. How was it spelled? “Feral”? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1766 "2026-08-04T17:16:43Z")
YouTube video: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WAY-GAD2KP4/maxresdefault.jpg "Police Surprise Sovereign Citizen At The Bank After $1.6 Million Scam Backfires") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAY-GAD2KP4) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1767 "2026-08-04T17:21:18Z")
Sorry, apparently links to the video are disabled, you have to click on “Watch on YouTube”. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1768 "2026-08-04T17:21:33Z")
SCs seem convinced that there’s a way to have all rights and no responsibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1769 "2026-08-04T17:26:21Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > only the Federal Reserve doesn’t offer personal accounts and “Federal” was misspelled on the checks, which might be considered a “tell”. “See, that’s how it works. If the checks say “Fediral”, they can’t claim they’re fake “Federal” checks! It’s their own mistake if they cash the check, so it’s legal for us to keep the money!” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1770 "2026-08-04T18:39:23Z")
The YouTube link on Dr. Sarteschi’s X post (see post #1763) is working, at least for me. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1771 "2026-09-01T02:06:01Z")
Sorry, I forgot to bookmark it. FINALLY! A judge interrupted one of those sovcidiots who claimed “on special appearance.” The judge said, “No, you’re not. If you’re here on special appearance, you must be a lawyer and on behalf of someone. If you are not appearning as the named defendant, I shall issue a bench warrant.” It seems the judges have moved on from finding these loons entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1772 "2026-09-09T01:30:53Z")
FAFO in Florida: the “authorized representative of the entity Jareca Sumter.” faces up to 90 years in prison after a lien scheme goes wrong. > **[‘Sovereign citizen’ convicted of harassing judges with fraudulent $50 million...](https://sa18.org/press-release/sovereign-citizen-convicted-of-harassing-judges-with-fraudulent-50-million-claim-against-their-property/)** ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1773 "2026-09-09T02:06:39Z")
Potentially up to **90** years for financial fraud? You could do less time for murder. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1774 "2026-09-09T02:32:23Z")
Well, Pudit Kittithradilok got sentenced to 13,275 years in prison by a Thai court in 2017 for running a huge Ponzi scheme.\* Bernie Madoff got 150 years for his own Ponzi crimes. The odds of Sumter actually getting anything close to 90 years are extremely low. It looks like at least a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence is in the cards however. She might actually welcome prison time. Think of all the frivolous motions she’d get to file from her cell. \*Kittithradilok’s sentence was cut in half because he confessed. And under Thai law, he’s unlikely to serve more than 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1775 "2026-09-09T18:45:18Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The odds of Sumter actually getting anything close to 90 years are extremely low. To be fair, the odds of anyone serving 90 years are extremely low. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1776 "2026-09-10T02:22:54Z")
Criminally harassing people with the power to physically lock you up normally works out well. I advise all my clients to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1777 "2026-09-11T07:40:59Z")
I seem to recall el donald sicing his cult on the judge’s daughter in one of his trials. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1778 "2026-09-11T11:06:37Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Criminally harassing people with the power to physically lock you up normally works out well. I advise all my clients to do it. Check out Kim Blandino. He’s a resident of Las Vegas but claims he’s an Israelite and has claimed to be a diplomat from the Kingdom of Israel. Although he’s not a sovereign citizen, he loves to represent himself, and has been declared a vexatious litigant and not allowed to file without the permission of the chief judge. He believes he’s been called by God to monitor judges and it’s going as well as you can imagine. In his latest case, he’s been arrested on seven felonies including stalking and harassing a judge and her prosecutor husband and is being held on $50,000 bond. I’m fortunate that my God only called me to sleep in on weekends and eat too much Rocky Road. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1779 "2026-09-11T13:52:48Z")
I swear some offenses should be punished with flogging, the prospect of jail time just doesn’t seem to deter some. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572/1780 "2026-09-11T14:07:22Z")
This is the quandary I’ve felt since working in Saudi Arabia and witnessing horrifying public punishments. They don’t have to do them very often. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572.md?page=88) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sovereign-citizens-please-tell-me-this-is-fake/769572.md?page=90)