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NO REDEEMING VALUE: SHAM SIGHT DRAFTS, MALICIOUS MONEY ORDERS AND COUNTERFEIT CHECKS
Redemption: An Anti-Government Scheme to Rob Your Bank Through Fraudulent Instruments
Quarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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What is the Scam?“Redemptionists” are anti-government extremists who create fraudulent or bogus:▫Checks ▫Sight drafts ▫Money orders▫Bills of exchange &▫Other instruments, claiming that they are
drawn on valid Treasury or I.R.S. accounts
Quarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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What do Redemptionists Want to do With These Bogus Instruments?•They want to deposit the items•Then later withdraw the money
provisionally credited by the bank through:▫Wire transfers▫Checks drawn on the account, or
•They want to pay off a large debt, such as a car note or mortgage
Quarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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What You Might Hear From a Redemptionist
The story you may hear to “prove” the item is legitimate is something like: ▫The U.S. went off the gold standard in
1933; federal government went bankrupt▫ Secret bank accounts are created for each
citizen at birth and held at the U.S. Treasury or I.R.S.
▫Each person can access, or “redeem,” their account by using these bogus sight drafts, etc.
Quarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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What to Look for: Legal-Sounding Buzzwords/Odd Punctuation
•Redemptionists use legal-sounding words in their documents to intimidate bank personnel
•They also use their own code of punctuation•Some examples include:
▫“U.C.C.” or “U.C.C. – 1” ▫“Certificate of Live Birth”▫“Attorney-in-fact”▫Names in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS▫Odd punctuation of names, typically
involving colons and hyphens (John-Sidney:Doe)
Quarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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What do These Items Look Like?
Quarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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Bogus Money OrderQuarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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Bogus BondQuarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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What Should I Do If I Receive A Bogus Item?
• Contact bank security as soon as possible▫Security should contact the authorities▫A Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) will need to
be filed by the appropriate bank personnel in accordance with federal laws and regulations
• Do not submit the item for processing, even if it has a valid routing number▫Redemptionists may use valid Treasury or other
routing numbers to avoid holds– don’t be fooled! These are counterfeit items!
Quarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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Resources• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Alert 99-
10, August 6, 1999, “Fictitious Sight Drafts,” http://www.occ.treas.gov/altlst99.htm (last viewed Aug. 23, 2010)
• Bureau of the Public Debt, “Bogus Sight Drafts/Bills of Exchange Drawn on the Treasury,” http://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/statreg/fraud/fraud_bogussightdraft.htm (last viewed Aug. 23, 2010)
• Southern Poverty Law Center, Beyond Redemption, http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2002/winter/beyond-redemption, Winter 2002 (last visited on Aug. 23, 2010)
Quarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
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For More Information Contact
Randy Quarles or Fran QuarlesQuarles Law Firm, LLC300 Office Park Drive
Suite 100Mountain Brook, AL
(205) [email protected]@quarleslawfirm.com
Quarles Law Firm, LLC (c) 2010
