- Nov 16, 2007 11:06am
- [this is the next chunk of the article...]
"I sincerely regret to inform you that about 8 this morning a dozen FBI and Secret Service agents raided the Liberty Dollar office in Evansville," the posting said.
"For approximately six hours they took all the gold, all the silver, all the platinum, and almost two tons of Ron Paul Dollars that were just delivered last Friday. They also took all the files and computers and froze our bank accounts," the statement said.
It asked purchasers with pending orders to be patient.
"We have no money. We have no products. We have no records to even know what was ordered or what you are owed. We have nothing but the will to push forward and overcome this massive assault on our liberty and our right to have real money as defined by the U.S. Constitution," it said.
"We should not be defrauded by the fake government money," according to the statement.
The United States Mint recently issued a statement saying "prosecutors with the Department of Justice have determined that the use of these gold and silver NORFED 'Liberty Dollar' medallions as circulating money is a federal crime."
"Consumers who are considering the purchase or use of these items should be aware that they are not genuine United States Mint bullion coins and they are not legal tender," the U.S. Mint statement said.
In a 1999 interview with The Spokesman-Review, von NotHaus claimed his money was not only legal, but much-needed competition for the government. At the time, Federal Reserve and House Banking Committee officials collectively scratched their heads when asked if von NotHaus' coin business was illegal.
"We're going to be to the Federal Reserve System what Federal Express was to the Postal Service,'" the "monetary architect" told the newspaper.
At the time, von NotHaus owned the Royal Hawaiian Mint, which had contracts with Sunshine Minting Co. in Coeur d'Alene to manufacture the American Liberty silver coins.
Von NotHaus said his paper currency -- in $1, $5, and $10 denominations -- was backed with equal amounts of the $10 coins, stored in a vault in Coeur d'Alene.
Audits of the silver in the vault were done by an unidentified Coeur d'Alene accounting firm and are posted on NORFED's extensive Web site ( norfed.org [norfed.org] ), according to a 1999 news story published in The Spokesman-Review.
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U.S. Raids Issuer of Ron Paul Coins
By Joseph Goldstein
New York Sun
Friday, November 16, 2007
nysun.com/article/66542 [nysun.com/article/66542]
Federal agents, in a move that could have an impact on the presidential race, raided the Indiana office of the issuer of a private currency known as the Liberty Dollar -- and seized tens of thousands of coins bearing the likeness of a presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul.
Overall, agents on Wednesday hauled away more than 2 tons of copper coins and 500 pounds of silver coins, as well as records and computers, the founder of the currency system, Bernard von NotHaus, told The Sun by phone from Miami. Although not present in Evansville, Ind., for the raid, Mr. von NotHaus said he has been told that the government agents left business cards from the FBI and Secret Service. Neither agency would confirm or deny the raid when contacted by the Sun.
The raid has the potential to alter the campaign of Mr. Paul, the Republican candidate of Texas whose visage appears on the more than 50,000 seized copper coins, as well as on lesser amounts of gold and silver coins. Mr. Paul is basing his presidential campaign in part on the argument that the federal government has been debasing the dollar.
Mr. von NotHaus, a supporter of the presidential candidate, said he put Mr. Paul's image on the dollars to raise attention for the candidate. An eclectic nationwide crew of libertarians and coin enthusiasts exchange the coins.
"I thought, 'What can I do for him?'" Mr. von NotHaus said. "I'll do a dollar. It's 1 ounce of pure copper."
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