Henderson man gets 5 years in sovereign citizens ID card scheme

By Cara McCoy

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 | 4:22 p.m.

A Henderson man was among three people with connections to the sovereign citizens movement sentenced in a Missouri federal court Monday for participating in a conspiracy to use fraudulent diplomatic credentials, including identification cards and license plates, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri announced.

Larry P. Goodyke, 53, of Henderson, was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole at a hearing in federal court in Kansas City, Mo., the U.S. attorney’s office said. Also sentenced in separate appearances were codefendants David L. Robinson, 67, of Lawrence, Kan., and Daniel W. Denham, 51, of Kingsville, Mo. Robinson was sentenced to six years and three months without parole; Denham received a sentence of five years without parole.

Prosecutors said the three men were involved in various groups that reject the authority of the government and claim most branches of the government are illegitimate entities. A federal jury convicted them on Aug. 31, 2009.

The three men participated in a conspiracy to use, buy and sell fake diplomatic identification cards, prosecutors said. Evidence presented at trial indicated the conspiracy took place between July 2006 and October 2007, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The men charged between $450 and $2,000 for the cards, which were 3-inch by 4-inch laminated cards that identified the bearer as an “ambassador,” had a photograph of the bearer of the card, a state department seal and the words “diplomatic identification,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Goodyke also created license plates with the state department seal on them, prosecutors said.

The men told customers that purchasing the cards would grant them sovereign status, which would not only grant them diplomatic immunity but would also free them of obligations to pay taxes, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Prosecutors also said the men told customers that sovereign status meant they would no longer be subject to arrest or detainment by law enforcement personnel.

The conspiracy was originally led by Robinson and Denham, who had customers sign a document renouncing their U.S. citizenship, prosecutors said. The two men falsely told customers that the government had reviewed their claims of sovereignty, found them to be legitimate and had granted them diplomatic immunity, authorities said.

Goodyke was originally a customer of the two men but became involved by modifying, improving and revising the cards; he also sold and transferred numerous cards to others, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The three men were also found guilty on multiple counts of illegally using fraudulent diplomatic credentials with the state department seal, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Robinson was additionally found guilty of wrongfully using a government seal or instrument after he displayed a fraudulent diplomatic identification card to a police officer at a traffic stop in 2007 in Kansas City, Mo.