Sovereign Citizen Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Retaliating Against a Federal Judge and Prosecutor

In Houston today, a federal judge sentenced 45–year-old Tyrone Eugene Jordan, a sovereign citizen residing in Houston, to ten years in federal prison for retaliating against a federal judge and prosecutor by filing false liens announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner, Houston Division. 

In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Gray H. Miller ordered that Jordan be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.

On July 15, 2015, a federal jury convicted Jordan of three counts of retaliation against a federal officer or employee by false claim.  Evidence and trial testimony revealed that in October 2014, Jordan filed a fraudulent lien--a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Financial Statement--with the Texas Secretary of State which claimed that a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Texas owed the defendant $6,534,500.  Furthermore, in January 2015, the defendant knowingly filed two separate fraudulent documents (Affidavit of Obligation Commercial Lien) with the Harris County Clerk’s Office—Real Property Department claiming that the federal prosecutor mentioned above and a U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of Texas were Lien Debtors to the defendant. Testimony also revealed that the defendant filed the fraudulent documents against the victims in retaliation for their roles as prosecutor and sitting judge in a prior criminal case involving the defendant. 

“Jordan’s sole purpose was to harass these public servants for having done their jobs.  Such malicious harassment of public officials is unacceptable.  Public officials should not have to suffer such harassment simply because they work to uphold the law,” stated United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.

In April 2010, Jordan was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling following a jury trial in Corpus Christi.  He was subsequently sentenced to 63 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.  On March 9, 2015, Jordan was arrested by federal authorities for violating terms of his supervised release, namely, filing two false liens. In addition to the prison term assessed for retaliating against a federal judge and prosecutor, Judge Miller ordered that Jordan serve ten months in federal prison for violating his supervised release conditions stemming from his April 2010 federal conviction.

This case was investigated by the FBI together with the United States Marshals Service for the Southern District of Texas.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wannarka prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.