Man acting as notary for ‘imaginary’ tribe averts jail

A man accused of impersonating a notary public for members of an "imaginary" Indian tribe avoided jail time Tuesday, but a federal judge warned him that he would receive time if he continued to notarize documents.

U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson found Robert Neilson Baker in contempt of court but said he would not impose a 30-day jail sentence unless Baker continued to act as notary for alleged members of the Little Shell Indian tribe who are accused of violating securities laws.

The hearing stems from a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that accuses Gold-Quest International, which claims to be affiliated with Little Shell Nation, of operating a Ponzi scheme that cheated 2,100 U.S. and Canadian citizens out of $27.9 million. In a Ponzi scheme, early investors are paid with money from new investors until the scheme collapses.

The defendants said they were running a highly profitable foreign exchange trading program, but the SEC said it was a fraudulent enterprise operated out of Las Vegas. Defendants in the case have contended that they are immune from federal court orders because of their membership in the tribe, which is said to be located in North Dakota.

John Jenkins, a defendant in the SEC lawsuit, has been confined in a local jail since June 13 for failing to provide documents and information. The judge has fined Jenkins $500 a day for civil contempt until he complies with court orders and discloses information to a court-appointed receiver.

In the hearing Tuesday, Dawson stopped short of ordering Baker arrested and jailed.

"You are in an imaginary world where you belong to an unrecognized Indian group," Dawson told Baker.

The tribe appears to be created as a way of claiming Gold-Quest and individual defendants who belong to Little Shell Nation aren't subject to U.S. laws, Dawson said.

"You're going to get yourself in a lot of trouble," the judge said.

"I have the utmost respect for you and your courts," Baker said. "To the best of my knowledge, I wasn't doing anything fraudulent."

Baker conceded that he wasn't an Indian by birth, but added: "They have adopted me into their family."

Dawson told Baker that he could not hold people responsible for statements they made to Baker because Baker is not a notary public.

Baker said he had filed information as a notary public with the secretary general of the United Nations, but the judge said that because the UN didn't challenge the filing doesn't make Baker a notary public.

Dawson told Baker to read the state law on notaries public.

In related developments, Gold-Quest defendant "Lord" David Greene was served in Las Vegas with notice of the lawsuit Monday. Michael McGee, another defendant, filed papers denying the SEC allegations. McGee asked the judge to release the freeze on his bank account, which he used to pay Gold-Quest workers, although McGee said he himself was "just an employee."

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.