California Trio On Trial For Scam Accused Of Check Scheme Inspired By Freemen Methods

A California woman and two co-defendants ran an $800 million check scam inspired by the teachings of the freemen anti-government group, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

M. Elizabeth Broderick, Barry Switzer and Julian Cheney face 36 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering and related charges in a trial that is expected to last a month.

The defendants printed checks with images of the American flag, the Statue of Liberty and a bar code on them to make them appear genuine, Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Dyer said, showing jurors an enlargement of such a check.

“We’re here because this appears to be a legitimate government check,” Dyner said. “Nothing about this check is legitimate.”

Attorneys for Switzer and Cheney contend their clients were victims of the scheme the government is prosecuting, not perpetrators.

The government contends the defendants issued 8,000 counterfeit checks with a face value of $800 million.

The checks were often distributed at seminars Broderick organized at a hotel in Lancaster.

Prosecutors contend the group made $1 million in profit from the scheme.

Broderick met in Montana last year with Leroy Schweitzer, leader of the freemen anti-government group, prior to Schweitzer’s arrest and the siege of the freemen compound.

It was in Montana where Broderick learned the freemen-advocated methods of filing liens against the government and writing checks against the liens.

In her opening statement, Broderick played to the gallery of spectators in the U.S. District Court.

She argued the case against her is an “attack on the sovereigns,” a group she contends have renounced U.S. citizenship and thus are immune from U.S. law.

“I have been accused of doing something very good - debt relief for Americans,” Broderick said.