Cape Girardeau doctor's claims similar to 'sovereign citizen' philosophy

A Cape Girardeau doctor apparently learned the hard way that federal courts are not required to obtain a defendant's consent before prosecuting him on fraud charges.

According to a transcript of Byron Glenn's initial appearance in U.S. District Court, Glenn argued with a federal judge about his own name, the judge's credentials and whether the court had jurisdiction over the fraud case against him.

"I haven't consented to anything that has happened today," Glenn is quoted as saying in the transcript of the Feb. 6 hearing.

"Well, that doesn't really make any difference, Mr. Glenn," U.S. Magistrate Judge Lewis M. Blanton replied.

Glenn pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of passing a fictitious instrument with intent to defraud. In exchange for his guilty plea, federal prosecutor Morley Swingle agreed to drop five felony charges of fraud and passing fake money orders and checks and recommend Glenn be sentenced to the time he already has served since his arrest in February.

U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh told Glenn he would order a presentence investigation before deciding whether to accept the guilty plea and the recommended sentence. If Limbaugh rejects the plea deal, Glenn can withdraw his guilty plea and start over, Limbaugh said.

He ordered Glenn released on his own recognizance until his sentencing hearing in November.

"Freeholder"

According to an affidavit filed Jan. 16 by Special Agent James Dennis of the U.S. Secret Service, Glenn admitted to writing fake money orders using a routing number from the U.S. Treasury but said he was entitled to do so because he was a "freeholder" who had renounced his U.S. citizenship and thus was entitled to withdraw funds from the U.S. Treasury.

Glenn "claimed to believe that when a child is born in the United States, the government assigns a number to that person and sets up a secret account that grows as the person ages. Each account, according to Glenn, is worth approximately 600 million dollars and each citizen is entitled to draw his money from the government if he renounces his citizenship," Dennis wrote.

A search of online court records shows no legal attempt by Glenn to renounce his U.S. citizenship.

Glenn's claims are similar to those of the anti-government "sovereign citizen" movement, a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer said Thursday.

"The tactic sounds very sovereignesque," Capt. Dave Hall said. "...They would definitely say they renounce their citizenship; ...they are a free man. They don't subscribe to the laws of the United States or anything."

Sovereigns base their claims, including their beliefs about secret Treasury accounts for individual citizens, on a faulty understanding of the U.S. Constitution, Hall said.

"They rest some of their assertions onto parts of the Constitution -- incorrect or poor interpretation of the Constitution -- and that's what they base all of their assumptions on," he said. "They make themselves out to be patriots."

Proponents of the movement sometimes prey on individuals facing financial difficulties, Hall said, luring them into illegal debt-reduction schemes or selling fake credentials purported to grant them "diplomatic immunity" from paying taxes or being arrested.

"They get good people who are in trouble to subscribe to their views," Hall said. "It sounds like a good deal. They try it. ... To sane individuals it sounds really ridiculous, but if you ever get an opportunity to sit in on one of those sessions, they are very good at selling it, and they are very good at making their point.

"They're preying on people's emotions a lot. They're looking for a way out."

A 2010 article on the FBI website describes the sovereign citizen movement as a domestic terror threat posed by "anti-government extremists" who may attempt to pass fake checks; impersonate police officers or diplomats; refuse to pay taxes; file frivolous lawsuits against public officials; or turn to more violent acts, such as threatening government employees or actually committing violence against them.

A warning

Dennis warned Glenn on Aug. 21 that printing money orders on account numbers not belonging to him was illegal, and Glenn said he would not do it again, Dennis wrote.

In late September, a local bank president told Dennis that Glenn -- who was born in Carbondale, Ill. -- had sent the bank a document saying he was an "Official Post Office Diplomat" who was not subject to U.S. law and "should be afforded all of the protections of a foreign official when visiting the United States," Dennis wrote.

In November, the bank president reported Glenn had tried to pass another fake check -- this one purportedly drawn on the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland -- and became angry when the bank put a hold on the check, which "did not clear because it was fake," Dennis wrote.

Glenn told Dennis on Dec. 4 that someone else had created the check in his presence on his office computer, and Dennis again warned him that what he was doing was illegal, Dennis wrote.

On Dec. 12, Glenn mailed the bank a check drawn on a closed account he'd had with another bank, but the bank did not honor the check, Dennis wrote.

Glenn admitted he had written and mailed the check and knew the account was closed but "claimed he could still access his United States Treasury money by writing an account closed check," Dennis wrote.

After trying to pass more than $117 million in bogus checks and money orders, Glenn "shows no sign of stopping his conduct, in spite of repeated warnings that his conduct is illegal," Dennis wrote.

'That's debatable'

In the transcript of his Feb. 6 court appearance, Glenn seemed less than cooperative.

Blanton's first question to Glenn was, "Are you Byron Cornelius Glenn?"

Glenn hedged the question, first telling Blanton he was "the beneficiary of that name" but "not the legal fiction," then telling him he was "not the trustee for that name," according to the transcript.

Blanton asked him to confirm his last name was Glenn.

"Well, that's debatable too," Glenn is quoted in the transcript as saying. "If you'll look at my birth certificate, it says legally--"

"I'm not going to look at your birth certificate," Blanton interrupted.

"Well, I'm just trying to tell you why I can't answer that question," Glenn said, according to the transcript.

Blanton then addressed him as "Mr. Glenn" and asked whether he had received a copy of the indictment.

"Are you referring to me, Your Honor?" Glenn is quoted as asking.

Later in the proceeding, Glenn objected to having a public defender appointed to represent him, arguing that he hadn't consented to the proceedings, questioning Blanton's credentials and claiming the court did not have jurisdiction over his case, the transcript shows.

"...You don't even have your oath of office, so how do I even know you're a judge? And what bonds do you have? I'd like to see those as well," Glenn is quoted as saying.

Back to work

Glenn's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, on Wednesday declined to comment on Glenn's "freeholder" beliefs, citing concerns about discussing an ongoing case. Rosenblum said he and his client hope Limbaugh will accept the plea deal.

Glenn plans to return to his medical practice a week from Monday, his attorney said.

"He's a very good doctor," Rosenblum said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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