SCAM ALERT Beware of the so-called "redemption process" being taught by legal amateurs in "common-law" law schools around the country. This approach lands people in jail. See the Akron, Ohio report below as an instance. This was roughly the scheme used by Leroy Schweitzer and the the Montana Freemen, though their basis for writing fraudulent checks was different (with a hint of truth behind it). This redemption scheme has no legal basis at all.
For more on this from a legal expert on such issues, see Larry Becraft's article at: http://home.hiwaay.net/~becraft/Scams.htm
Published Tuesday, April 24, 2001, in the Akron Beacon Journal, at: http://www.ohio.com/bj/news/pageone/docs/009452.htmEx-Stark pair's sentences cut
Lehmans, Guilty of Harassing Public Officials,
Must Help Inquiry Into Akron Common Law MovementBY JOHN HIGGINS
Beacon Journal staff writerCANTON: A former Stark County couple will serve days in jail instead of years in prison for harassing public officials. But they must tell prosecutors all they know about the Akron-area organization they say taught them how to file false criminal charges, phony tax forms and bizarre commercial law pleadings.
Visiting Judge Richard M. Markus sentenced Sandra L. Lehman and her estranged husband, Ellis Lehman, to probation plus 60 and 30 days, respectively, in Stark County Jail.
Both pleaded guilty last month to 18 counts of intimidating public officials -- third-degree felonies carrying a five-year maximum penalty. A condition of the Lehmans' probation is that they cooperate ``aggressively'' in any future investigation and testify in court, if necessary.
Prosecutors were unavailable to comment on possible cases associated with the Lehmans.
Markus, however, peppered Sandra Lehman with questions about an organization called Right Way L.A.W. (Learn And Win) and received some answers special Prosecutor Jonathan E. Rosenbaum said he was hearing for the first time.
The organization is among the main proponents -- through seminars, books and instructional tapes -- of a ``legal'' theory that has landed believers in jail from Ohio to Idaho.
True believers and plain old-fashioned con men have applied the theory -- a gross misinterpretation of U.S. commerce laws -- to everything from car-buying schemes to the harassment of public officials.
``I was told how to do everything by Right Way L.A.W.,'' said Sandra Lehman, 45, whose sentiment toward the group has soured. ``Everybody who has ever dealt with Right Way L.A.W. has the same opinion I do.'' She faces two years in a state penitentiary if she does not cooperate fully with prosecutors and the state's crime lab.
``That's the only reason she's not in prison,'' said her attorney, Thomas Adgate. ``(Prosecutors) are looking for the bigger fish.''
Markus ordered that the couple take voice stress analysis tests, which are similar to a lie detector, although prosecutors admit that Ellis Lehman, 47, was not the main instigator.
Before Sandra Lehman serves her 60 days, she must retrieve some 4,000 documents she has in Arizona, where she has kept an address since her separation from her husband following their indictment last year.
Ted Almay, superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, said from his office he could not comment on whether prosecutors have Right Way L.A.W. lined up in their sights.
``We are not done with our investigation in your part of the state,'' said Almay. ``It's really challenging to keep up on (the common law movement). That's why we want the documents Sandra Lehman has.''
The Lehmans have filed self-styled legal papers with the courts for years, but the case that landed them in court as defendants emerged from frustration over losing their daughter to a boyfriend they didn't like. Sandra Lehman claimed that the boyfriend assaulted her, and when local authorities refused to prosecute, she struck back with a barrage of paperwork.
Right Way L.A.W. showed her how, she said yesterday.
Nobody from Right Way L.A.W. could be reached for comment last night. Although the organization is based in the Akron area, regular Right Way study group meetings are conducted in Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Alabama, New Mexico, Nevada, California and Washington, according to promotional materials.
Membership does not come cheap. New members pay $150 and receive discounts on written materials and cassette tapes, which can cost as much as $115.
That's not counting seminars like the one Sandra Lehman attended in Reno, Nev., in 1998 at the casino/hotel Circus Circus. She testified yesterday that the conference cost her $200 to $300 plus airfare.
For their money, Right Way's followers -- Sandra Lehman estimated membership at about 5,000 around the country -- learn a process called ``redemption.''
Right Way L.A.W. is not the sole proprietor of the ``redemption theory,'' which has roots in the 1980s common law movements in Montana and elsewhere, and has since spread with several variations, experts say.
The idea is based on a belief that the Uniform Commercial Code, which regulates business transactions, actually governs everything in the United States, including criminal and traffic proceedings.
By learning how to manipulate the code, a citizen can gain access to his U.S. Treasury account containing hundreds of thousands of dollars and increase his balance by converting everything from a speeding ticket to an indictment into cash.
The more adventurous believers may write checks off these imaginary accounts and attempt to buy things, such as Cadillacs in Cleveland or mortgages in Idaho.
Almay said the Lehmans were the first in Ohio to use the process to intimidate public officials.
``This is the first time we've seen the redemption movement operate on this level,'' he said.
The state's crime lab began investigating the Lehmans about two years ago at the request of Stark County Prosecutor Robert D. Horowitz, Almay said.
He said it was a difficult case because investigators didn't want to trample on the Lehmans' First Amendment rights. Instead, they looked for and found criminal intent behind the Lehmans' actions.
``This can really wreak havoc with our whole justice system,'' Almay said. ``It's something we take seriously.''
Markus agreed, and told the Lehmans he expected their complete cooperation if they want to avoid prison.
``The people involved in this activity are sick,'' Markus said. ``They are ruthless, they are ignorant, they are saying things that are ridiculously false.''
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John Higgins can be reached at 330-478-6000 (Ext. 12) or 1-800-478-5445 or jhiggins@thebeaconjournal.com