Sovereign citizen Randall David Due was convicted this week on seven counts of conspiracy to file and filing false liens against federal officials, according to a statement issued by the Justice Department on Friday.
Due, of Pelham, Ga., was found guilty by a federal jury in Omaha, Neb. on Thursday and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each fraudulent lien, according to the DOJ’s press release.
Prosecutors said Due worked with an accomplice, Donna Kozak, to get back at federal officials who investigated and successfully prosecuted two associates in 2012. Due and Kozak filed a false lien against the federal judge who oversaw the case and then filed five additional liens against the other officials involved in the case, according to the DOJ. Kozak was convicted in August on similar charges.
Filing false liens and other legal documents are a common tactic used by members of the anti-government sovereign citizen movement. For instance, a California man who claimed to be part of the movement and who allegedly shot a Bureau of Land Management ranger in June filed a series of nonsensical documents as part of his defense in an earlier criminal case against him.
In Due’s case, his name appears on the website civilrightsfreedom.com, which displays a series of legal documents. The website displays the sovereign citizens’ “Declaration of Independence” and requires registration and approval before site visitors can learn how to “utilize” the information.
