The self-proclaimed leader of a sovereign citizen group sentenced for a $300 million fictitious bond
James Timothy Turner, self-proclaimed "president" of the sovereign citizen group Republic for the united States of America, travelled the country in 2008 and 2009 holding seminars that taught attendees how to pay off taxes, mortgages and other debts by mailing fictitious bonds to the US Treasury and other creditors. Turner was personally convicted of sending a $300 million fictitious bond in his own name and of helping others send fifteen more. A federal jury convicted him on 10 counts in March 2013, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and attempting to pay taxes with fictitious financial instruments, and he was sentenced on July 31, 2013 to 18 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $26,021 in restitution to the IRS.
- Year
- 2013
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $26,021
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Sovereign citizen debt elimination fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-03
The facts, as recorded
- James Timothy Turner, also known as Tim Turner, was the self-proclaimed 'president' of the Republic for the united States of America (RuSA), described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as the largest sovereign citizen group in the country at the time.
- In 2008 and 2009, Turner conducted seminars across the country teaching attendees how to avoid paying taxes, mortgages and other debts by creating and submitting fictitious bonds.
- Witnesses testified that the bonds were printed on special paper with elaborate borders and financial terminology specifically to make them look authentic.
- Turner was convicted of personally sending a $300 million fictitious bond in his own name to the US Treasury, and of aiding and abetting others in sending fifteen additional fictitious bonds to pay taxes and other debts.
- The FBI opened its investigation after Turner and three other self-styled 'Guardian Elders' sent letters in March 2010 demanding that all 50 state governors resign in favor of sovereign leaders.
- Following a five-day jury trial, Turner was convicted in the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in March 2013 on 10 counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, attempting to pay taxes with fictitious financial instruments, attempting to obstruct and impede the IRS, failing to file a 2009 federal tax return, and falsely testifying under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding.
- Turner was sentenced on July 31, 2013 to 18 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $26,021 in restitution to the IRS.
- Then-Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally said: "This lengthy prison sentence shows that tax defiers like Turner who use bogus tax schemes and file retaliatory liens against government officials will be punished."
Why this case matters
Turner is the clearest documented origin point on this page, not a lone filer copying a method he found online, but the self-proclaimed president of an organisation built specifically to teach it nationwide. His case shows the scheme at its most ideological: seminars, a shadow-government structure, and a willingness to send a $300 million document in his own name rather than hide behind an alias.
A seminar circuit, not a single scam
Between 2008 and 2009, Turner did not approach individual victims one at a time. He held seminars across the country, building Republic for the united States of America into what the Southern Poverty Law Center described as the largest sovereign citizen group in the country, and taught attendees the same fictitious-bond method as a repeatable technique for mortgages, taxes and other debts, not a one-off trick.
Escalation into a shadow government
The fraud did not stay confined to paperwork sent to the Treasury. In March 2010, Turner and three other self-styled “Guardian Elders” sent letters to all 50 state governors demanding their resignation in favor of sovereign leaders, the act that drew FBI attention and ultimately led to the investigation that produced this conviction.
The caveat
Turner was convicted by a federal jury after a five-day trial and sentenced by a federal judge; this is a fully proven and concluded legal outcome, not an allegation. The $300 million and $17.6 billion figures on this page describe the face value printed on the fictitious bonds themselves, not money Turner or his associates ever actually received; the $26,021 restitution figure reflects the real, provable loss to the IRS.
Sources
- Leader of sovereign citizens group gets 18-year sentence for tax fraud. ABA Journal. Accessed 2026-10-03. Supports: Turner's role as RuSA's self-proclaimed president, the nationwide 2008-2009 seminars teaching how to create phony bonds, the March 2010 governor letters that triggered the FBI investigation, the March 2013 conviction, and the 18-year sentence.
- Sovereign Citizen's leader sentenced to prison for promoting tax fraud scheme. WSFA 12 News (Montgomery, Alabama). Accessed 2026-10-03. Supports: The 10-count conviction list, the $300 million bond in Turner's own name, the $17.6 billion maritime lien filed against another individual, the fifteen additional bonds, the five-year supervised release term, the $26,021 restitution, the July 31, 2013 sentencing date, and the Kathryn Keneally quote.