False Prophet Ronald Weinland

Last Saturday, Weinland spoke of traveling to Canada.  So I reviewed the conditions of his pre-trial release.  (to see a larger size of these pictures, you can click once to see it in a new page and then again to see a larger version)

The first page lists his upcoming court appearances, and his $20,000 bond which he has to pay only if he doesn’t show up. Set your alarm clock, Ron.

The top of the second page requires him to surrender his passport.

Took a closer look at the bottom of the second page.

That gave me some concern, as it seems to say that Ron can travel internationally so long as the destination country has an extradition treaty.  Seems contradictory with his being required to turn in his passport.

But then I found another document:

So Ron had to turn in his passport after all.

Also looked into what travel documents are required for US citizens to travel to Canada.  The last time I went there was as a youth and no travel documents were required to go to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls other than a driver’s license.  Travel rules have changed since then because of the reaction to 9/11.  While Canada doesn’t require a passport to be in the country, the US requires a passport for readmission.  So Canada will not allow you to enter without a passport because they want you to return home.

So Ron must be quite optimistic if he thinks he’s going to Canada in February.  Has he gained his fire-breathing ability all of a sudden?  Does he think his talented team of lawyers hired by the church to defend him will get him off?  Time will tell.  As of right now, the itinerary on his “Trips” page has domestic travel planned up through Jan 28, the weekend prior to the beginning of his jury trial in criminal court.

On November 23, the day following False Prophet Ronald Weinland’s arraignment in federal court on 5 counts of criminal tax evasion, Magistrate Judge Candace Smith issued a written order with a prophetic timeline leading up to a jury trial starting on January 31, 2012.  During this time, the prosecution and defense are to prepare for trial by providing all required discovery and filing all pretrial motions.  If Ronald Weinland is to negotiate a plea agreement and abort this prophetic timeline, it must be during the week prior to the Pretrial Conference in mid-January in order for him to be eligible for a sentence reduction of around 6 months.

I have included the text of the judge’s order with commentary and links to explanatory material.

—————- Text of Judge Smith’s order issued following Ronald Weinland’s arraignment, with {embedded commentary} ——————–

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
NORTHERN DIVISION
at COVINGTON
CRIMINAL ACTION NO. 11-70-DCR-CJS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA     PLAINTIFF
VS.
RONALD E. WEINLAND                  DEFENDANT

PRETRIAL AND DISCOVERY ORDER
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Defendant having been arraigned on the above action and having pled not guilty, the Court enters this general order governing discovery and pretrial procedures for criminal actions.
1. This matter is assigned for a final pretrial conference on January 17, 2012, beginning at the hour of 3:30 p.m., {a later court order delayed to March 12, 2012} at the United States District Court in Covington, Kentucky.
2. This matter is assigned for trial by Jury on January 31, 2012, beginning at the hour of 10:00 a.m., {a later order delayed to March 20, 2012}at the United States District Court in Covington, Kentucky. Counsel shall be present in Court at 9:30 a.m. Unless otherwise ordered, the Defendant shall continue under the terms and conditions of his present bond for his appearance.
3. (a) To avoid loss of credit for acceptance of responsibility under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, any motion for re-arraignment shall be filed no less than two (2) business days prior to the date of the final pretrial conference. The parties are advised and cautioned that any such motions that do not comply with this paragraph must be accompanied by an affidavit of counsel explaining the failure to comply. Following the filing of a motion for re-arraignment, and if the parties intend to proceed pursuant to a written plea agreement, a copy of the proposed plea agreement shall be submitted for the Court’s review within twenty-four (24) hours of any motion for rearraignment. {A re-arraignment occurs after the defendant negotiates a plea agreement to modified charges.  Under the sentencing guidelines, “acceptance of responsibility” can take 6 months off the sentence.  The court wants any plea agreement negotiated the week before the pretrial conference in mid-January.}
(b) The Court also alerts counsel to United States v. Rocky Miller, No: 6:08-23-DCR (E.D. Ky. July 30, 2008)(Docket Entry No. 50). The referenced Memorandum Opinion and Order sets forth Judge Reeves’s application of 18 U.S.C. §§ 3143(a)(2) and 3145(c) in the context of a defendant, otherwise subject to pre-sentencing detention under §§ 3142(f)(1)(C) and 3143(a)(2), who applied for release under the “exceptional reasons” language of § 3145(c). Counsel should consult said Opinion if such issues may apply, at any point, in this case. Per Miller, although the District Court has jurisdiction under § 3145(c), the Court will undertake the fact-intensive “exceptional reasons” inquiry only in “those instances in which a defendant is incapacitated (physically or mentally) such that he or she is unable to engage in further similar criminal conduct. Additionally, such a defendant must be capable of raising a legitimate issue on appeal. And as the statute plainly states, a defendant must meet a higher standard of proof by clearly showing that exceptional reasons justify release.” See Miller, No: 6:08-23-DCR, DE #50, at 18-19. The District Court will expect counsel to be conversant with this analysis as to any similar prospective release request in this case.{As I understand the referenced case and this language, Judge Reeves is not likely to allow Ron to remain on bail if convicted, but instead would go directly to jail, no passing “Go” and collecting $200}
4. Defensive motions
(a) Generally Defensive motions (except motions for discovery under paragraph 5) shall be filed within thirty (30) days after arraignment {or Dec 22, 2011}, accompanied by a memorandum of authorities. In the case of subsequent arraignment on a superseding indictment, any defensive motions shall be filed within the original (30) day deadline or within fifteen (15) days of re-arraignment, whichever date is later. All motions, responses and replies will be governed by Rule 12.1 the Joint Local Rules of Criminal Practice for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky, and shall be accompanied by a memorandum of authorities. An extra paper copy of such memorandum shall be filed for the convenience of the Court, with an electronic copy to be transmitted via e-mail to the Magistrate Judge’s Chambers at {redacted}@kyed.uscourts.gov. If any motions requiring evidentiary hearings or oral arguments are filed, this matter is assigned for a hearing on pending motions before United States Magistrate Judge Candace J. Smith on January 4, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. at the United States District Court in Covington, Kentucky. Counsel shall confer and have all necessary witnesses present and ready to testify at such hearings.
(b) Motions to Suppress Paragraph 4 of this Order shall apply to motions to suppress evidence, except that the opposing memorandum of the United States with regard to such motions shall be filed no later than three (3) business days prior {Dec 29, 2011} to the date of the suppression hearing {Jan 4, 2012, later delayed to Feb 17, 2012} before the Magistrate Judge. Supplemental memoranda may be filed after completion of the suppression hearing at the discretion of the Magistrate Judge.
5. Pretrial discovery and inspection
(a) The Government Within 10 days after arraignment{or Dec 2, 2011}, the Assistant United States Attorney and the defense counsel shall confer and, upon request, the United States shall fully comply with its obligation to disclose evidence in accordance with Rule 16(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. {There is certain evidence which the government must provide the defendant prior to trial.}
(b) The Defendant Within ten (10) days after the arraignment, the Assistant United States Attorney and the defense counsel shall confer and, upon request, the Defendant shall produce all items discoverable pursuant to Rule 16(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.{There is certain evidence which the defendant must provide the government prior to trial.}
(c) Declined disclosure If, in the judgment of the United States, it would not be in the interests of justice to make any one or more disclosures as required by this order and/or Rule 16(a) and requested by defense counsel, disclosure may be declined. A declination of any requested disclosure shall be in writing, directed to defense counsel, and signed personally by the Assistant United States Attorney, and shall specify the types of disclosure that are declined. If the Defendant seeks to challenge the declination, he/she shall proceed pursuant to subsection (d) below.
(d) Additional discovery or inspection If additional discovery or inspection is sought, Defendant’s attorney shall confer with the appropriate Assistant United States Attorney with a view to satisfying these requests in a cooperative atmosphere without recourse to the Court. The request may be oral or written and the United States shall respond in like manner. If the parties are unable to resolve their discovery dispute, the party seeking discovery shall file a motion not later than five (5) days prior to the pretrial conference, specifying the details of the dispute and legal authority supporting disclosure.
(1) Jencks Act material This order does not require the United States to disclose Jencks Act material to the Defendant prior to trial other than as required by 18 U.S.C. § 3500.{Any statements by government witnesses or documents to which they refer need only be disclosed to the defense after the witness testifies.}
(2) Brady material The Government shall disclose any Brady material of which it has knowledge in accordance with Rule 16(a). If disclosure is not required by Rule 16(a), said material shall be disclosed to Defendant in time for effective use at trial.{The government is required to disclose information which may tend to prove the defendant’s innocence.}
(3) Rule 404(b) evidence Upon service of a request from the Defendant for notice of Rule 404(b) evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts, the United States shall provide reasonable notice in advance of trial of the general nature of any such evidence it intends to introduce at trial unless the Court excuses pretrial notice upon motion by the United States showing good cause. Seven (7) calendar days prior to trial is presumed to be reasonable notice by this Court.{Rule 404(b) evidence is that which would tend to show the character of the defendant, such as prior convictions.}
(e) If the Government is unsure as to the nature of any evidence and the proper time for disclosure, then it may request an in camera {secret}hearing for the purpose of resolving this issue. A failure to disclose Brady material at a time when it can be effectively used at trial may result in a recess or a continuance so that the Defendant may properly utilize such evidence.
6. Voir Dire The Court will conduct the initial voir dire examination of prospective jurors. However, unless otherwise indicated, and in cases involving a single defendant, each party shall be given fifteen (15) minutes to conduct any follow-up voir dire. The Court may exercise its discretion to shorten individual voir dire in cases involving multiple defendants.
7. Jury Instructions Proposed jury instructions need not be filed in the record but the parties are advised to submit complete instructions to the Court’s Chambers prior to the pretrial conference. These instructions shall be submitted electronically (word perfect format) to {redacted}@kyed.uscourts.gov as well as in paper form. The proposed instructions shall cite supporting authorities. Whenever applicable, the parties shall follow Sixth {PDF File}, Fifth {PDF File} or Eleventh {PDF File} Circuit pattern jury instructions.
8. Statement of the Case The parties shall submit to the Court an Agreed Statement of the Case, or in the event they are unable to agree upon a statement, a separate Statement of the Case, no later than the pretrial conference. This submission should be brief and should identify primary issues raised by the parties (i.e., a basic summary of charges and defenses).
9. Witness and Exhibit Lists The United States (and the Defendant if he/she so chooses) shall submit its in camera witness and exhibit list on or before the pretrial conference. The witness list should identify any evidentiary or other issues which may delay the proceedings and include an estimation of the expected length of direct testimony regarding each person identified.
10. Miscellaneous Pretrial Issues In addition to the matters specified herein, the pretrial conference shall be the deadline for:
(a) filing any motions in limine;{a motion presented to the court outside the presence of the jury}
(b) premarking for identification purposes all exhibits to be used at trial; and,
(c) filing a stipulation as to the authenticity of the exhibits.
This 23rd day of November, 2011.
Signed By:
Candace J. Smith
United States Magistrate Judge

—————— End of text of judge’s order —————-

A Magistrate Judge has lesser powers than a regular Judge.  Magistrate Judge Candace Smith will be handling preliminary matters.  Judge Danny Reeves will preside over the pretrial conference and the trial itself.

Opportunity for comments or questions below.

False Prophet Ronald Weinland promised during last week’s sermon a blog post addressing the indictment this week.  The following appeared this morning on his blog, and since it’s prior to this week’s sermon he’s not a liar (on this point).

Below is his post and also an opportunity for you to comment here, since he doesn’t allow comments on his blog.

—————————–   Weinland’s Post responding to the Indictment —————————————————–

November 26, 2011

False Prophet Ronald Weinland has been arraigned in federal court before Magistrate Judge Candace J. Smith. A second attorney has been assigned to Ron’s case, Jon Christopher Coffman of the same law firm as his other attorney.

As expected, the Spokesman Witness entered a plea of “Not Guilty to the Indictment”.  At present, he is free on $20,000 unsecured bond and is required to surrender his passport to the US Probation Office among other conditions.  One additional condition is that his travel is restricted unless approved by the US Probation Office one month in advance.  Wonder if he got approval for the ministerial conference in Florida in a few weeks.

The prophetic timeline set by the court for the trial:

• Government to meet with defense within 10 days (by December 2)  and provide discoverable evidence to the defense.
• Defense motions (other than for discovery )to be filed within 30 days (by December 22)
• Evidentiary Hearing on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 10 AM {Note: following later court action, this hearing was delayed until Feb 17, 2012}
• Thursday, January 12 is the deadline for motions seeking discovery
• Friday, January 13 is the deadline to file motion for re-arraignment should the final end-time Elijah decide to plead guilty to a negotiated plea agreement
• Pretrial Conference on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 3:30 PM.  The parties are expected to have witness lists and exhibits for trial prepared at this time. {Note: following later court action, the pretrial conference is delayed until March 12, 2012}
• Jury Trial set for Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 10 AM.  {Note: following later court action, the trial is delayed until March 20, 2012}

The Pretrial Conference and the Jury Trial are to be presided over by Judge Danny C. Reeves.  Could this be the beginning of the 5 months of torment foretold in the book of Revelation?  Weinland has not yet posted to his blog about the indictment as promised in his last sermon.

As of yet, no news regarding the arraignment in federal court of False Prophet Ronald Weinland.

The arraignment was scheduled for late in the day (at 4 PM in Kentucky), so we may not be able to find out what happened this evening. Hopefully tomorrow. While we wait for further developments, here is some linked information for Ron’s attorney, Robert C. Webb, an associate of the Frost Brown Todd law firm. Bob has an impressive resume. When your end-time witness powers are insufficient and your ability to breathe fire on your legal adversaries is on the fritz, hire the best legal talent you can.

False Prophet Ronald Weinland made his initial appearance in federal court in Covington, KY today.  His arraignment is scheduled for November 22, next Tuesday, at 4 PM.  At the arraignment, the charges will be formally read and Ronnie will get to enter his plea.  At the arraignment other hearings will probably be scheduled, sentencing if he pleads guilty or other types of hearings if he doesn’t.

The text of the indictment was made available as well, and here it is:

————— Text of Indictment ————–

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY

* * * * *
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:

INTRODUCTION
1. At all times relevant herein, RONALD E. WEINLAND was a minister of the Church of God -Preparing for the Kingdom of God (COG).
2. At all times relevant herein, COG was a tax exempt organization under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3).

COUNT 1     26 U.S.C. § 7201 On or about April 15, 2005, in Boone County, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, RONALD E. WEINLAND did willfully attempt to evade and defeat the payment of a large part of the income tax and owing by him to the United States of America for the calendar year 2004, in the amount of $28,391.58, by filing a false income tax return, by under reporting his income, and using COG contributions for personal use and not reporting the funds as income on tax return, by failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank regarding an account in by failing to report the existence of that foreign account on the Schedule B of his income tax returns, and by failing to report any of the interest made on the foreign account as income, all in violation of 26 U.S.c. § 7201.

COUNT 2    26 U.S.C. § 7201 On or about April 15, 2006, in Boone County, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, RONALD E. WEINLAND did willfully attempt to evade and defeat the payment of a large part of the income tax due and owing by him to the United States of America for the calendar year 2005, in the amount of $46,116.03, by filing a false income tax return, by under reporting his income, and using COG contributions for personal use and not reporting the funds as income on his tax return, by failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank regarding an account in Switzerland, by failing to report the existence of that foreign account on the Schedule B of his income tax returns, and by failing to report any of the interest made on the foreign account as income, all in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201.

COUNT 3      26 U.S.C. § 7201 On or about April 15, 2007, in Boone County, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, RONALD E. WEINLAND did willfully attempt to evade and defeat the payment of a large part of the income tax and owing by him to the United States of America for the calendar year 2006, in the amount of $31,157.94, by filing a false income tax return, by under reporting his income, and using COG contributions for personal use and not reporting the funds as income on tax return, by failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank regarding an account in by failing to report the existence of that foreign account on the Schedule B of his income tax returns, and by failing to report any of the interest made on the foreign account as income, all in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201.

COUNT 4      26 U.S.C. § 7201 On or about April 15, 2008, in Boone County, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, RONALD E. WEINLAND did willfully attempt to evade and defeat the payment of a large part of the income tax due and owing by him to the United States of America for the calendar year 2007, in the amount of $118,375.82, by filing a false income tax return, by under reporting his income, and using COG contributions for personal use and not reporting the funds as income on his tax return, by failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank regarding an account in Switzerland, by failing to report the existence of that foreign account on the Schedule B of his income tax returns, and by failing to report any of the interest made on the foreign account as income, all in violation of 26 U.S.c. § 7201.

COUNT 5      26 U.S.C. § 7201 On or about October 15, 2009, in Boone County, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, RONALD E. WEINLAND did willfully attempt to evade and defeat the payment of a large part of the income tax due and owing by him to the United States of America for the calendar year 2008, in the amount of $133,023.91, by failing to file income tax return, using COG contributions for personal use and not reporting the funds as income on his tax return, by failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank regarding an account in Switzerland, by failing to report the existence of that foreign account on the Schedule B of his income tax returns, and by failing to report any of the interest made on the foreign account as income, all in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201.

A TRUE BILL
KERRY B. HARVEY
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

PENALTIES
COUNTS 1-5: Not more than 5 years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $250,000 fine, and not more than 3 years supervised release.

PLUS: Mandatory special assessment of $100 per count.

PLUS: Restitution, if applicable.

———- End of text of indictment ———–

——– Text of Order for Summons ————

ORDER FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS
RONALD E. WEINLAND DEFENDANT
* * * * *
The Court ORDERS that the Motion of the United States for issuance of summons is GRANTED, and Summons shall be ISSUED for the Defendant, Ronald E. Weinland, to APPEAR in United States District Court at Covington, Kentucky, on November 17, 2011, at 9:30 AM and shall DIRECT the Defendant to contact the United States Probation Office in Covington, Kentucky, at telephone number (859) 392-7934, within 48 hours of the receipt of the Summons, excluding weekends, in order to arrange an interview by the United States Probation Office for the purpose of obtaining information pertaining to the pretrial release of the Defendant.

————–  end of order for summons ————-

From the order for summons, it seems that Ronnie hasn’t actually been arrested and required to wear the metal bracelets.  His blog still has travel plans within the US up through January.

It’s also interesting that Ronnie is charged with income tax evasion and to the greatest dollar figure for tax year 2008.  By the summer of 2008, Ronnie knew he was under criminal investigation.  At least he shut down his Swiss bank accounts at the end of 2008 (according to his statements) so he wouldn’t be hit with charges for following tax years. In 2009, Ronnie applied for one filing extension but failed to file on October 15.  But my research indicated that the IRS will grant indefinite filing extensions while under criminal investigation, so I wonder what if any legal advice Ron was getting.  But then you have to wonder what an insane lying false prophet is thinking anyway.

For years, even before I began blogging, “Doctor” Bob Thiel has been blogging about False Prophet Ronald Weinland.  Weinland has always used the initialism “PKG” to refer to his awkwardly named church (Church of God — Preparing for the Kingdom of God), Thielogical Bob decided to invent his own acronym “PFK” which he uses in his blogging.  I was perfectly happy to let Ron choose his own initialism, but Bob has been the only one to use “PFK”, or actually “CGPFK” — up ’til now, that is.

Earlier this year, Weinland’s evangelists Johnny and Terry incorporated a new corporation registered in the State of Georgia, named the “Church of God PFK, Inc.”   Interesting.  Could Johnny and Terry be getting ready to stage a palace coup?  Personally, I doubt that.

My guess is that Ronnie told them to set up this corporation.  And that when he did this, he was thinking of the Worldwide Church of God receivership in 1979.  When the state of California took over the church finances, Herbert Armstrong fled to Tucson Arizona, a short ride away in his Gulfstream jet and out of reach from service by the civil authorities.  Stan Rader set him up as a corporation sole, which is a legal entity separate from Herbert Armstrong as an individual but which Herbie could control.  Then the word was passed down through the ministerial hierarchy to the local congregations, so all the members then sent their tithes to Herbie’s new organization and starved the receiver in California from any more funds. Eventually Rader was able to stonewall the investigation for long enough that a political solution was reached with legislation removing the state’s attorney general from being able to pursue those types of investigations.

At some point during the upcoming tax fraud case, Ron may tell his members to instead send their tithes to the new organization, just like Herbie.  But there are some important differences:

• Ron is under criminal indictment, Herbie never was.
• Herbie could escape legal effects with a short plane ride in his Gulfstream jet, Ron really has nowhere to run to.
• The IRS does not appear to be interested in church revenues.  Ron could have taken all church revenue as a salary, and the IRS would be completely happy if he had declared it as personal income and paid his income taxes accordingly.

It will be interesting to watch the Insane Lying False Prophet maneuver his way through the next 191 days before Christ doesn’t return.

False Prophet Ronald Weinland defined the 7 thunders of Revelation 10 in his book “2008 — God’s Final Witness”. In the book on page 109, he states:

The Sixth Thunder is the growing revelation of God’s
end-time witnesses. That revelation is that I am the
spokesman of God’s two end-time prophets—the
spokesman of His two end-time witnesses.

This thunder will grow louder as the events described in the
previous thunders continue to unfold with ever increasing
intensity, proving the validity of what has been written and that
what I am saying is true. Radio and television interviews will
become more the norm as curiosity, news, controversy, and fear
increase in proportion to the growing intensity of these thunders.

After the federal indictment issued on Thursday, reporters are seeking him out for interviews. The Kentucky Enquirer is the Northern Kentucky edition of Cincinnati’s largest daily paper, the Cincinnati Enquirer. An article appears in today’s edition which covers more details about Weinland. The articles which appeared from various news articles on Thursday were mostly repackaging of the press release from the US Attorney.  I interviewed with the reporter for this article, which appears to be drawn heavily from material on my blog.

So the reporter felt material on my blog was accurate enough to put in a mainstream news publication. Actually, the source material was available for him to review: court filings and sermon statements. So he really didn’t have to take my word for it.

Now that Ron’s moment has arrived, and reporters are seeking him out, why is he not making himself available for interview?  Could Ron be in custody awaiting a bail hearing?  Or did Ron go on the lam?  I think his followers would attempt to hide him out forever if he asked him.

It will be interesting to see if he shows up in Bowling Green this afternoon to give his scheduled sermon.  And if so, what if anything he’ll have to say to his followers about it.  According to a comment left on another post of this blog, not all members were aware of the criminal investigation.  Ron has never stated directly in a sermon that he was under criminal investigation.  So it will be interesting to see what comes over the Internet at 2:30 PM.  Will Ron show?  Will he mention the indictment?  If so, how will he spin it?  Probably he will spiritualize it, Satan is attacking.