The redemption theory is an American conspiracy theory created by Roger Elvick and marketed as a tax evasion and fraud scheme. The theory claims that when the United States government abandoned the gold standard in 1933, it pledged its citizens as collateral so it could borrow money. According to Elvick, the government creates a fictitious person (straw man) corresponding to each newborn citizen with bank accounts initially holding $630,000. The theory further holds that through obscure procedures under the Uniform Commercial Code, a citizen can "reclaim" the straw man and write checks against its accounts.[1]
Elvick, who had been a spokesman for the Posse Comitatus offshoot Committee of the States, began promoting the theory in the 1980s. He was convicted in 1990 for criminal conspiracy. While incarcerated he was further convicted in another conspiracy.[2] Upon release from prison he restarted the scheme in Ohio, where he was convicted in April 2005 of forgery, extortion and corruption.[3] Other people who have followed Elvick's instructions have also been convicted.[4][5][6][7][8][9] The US Treasury Department has included the "straw man" claim in its list of frivolous positions that incur a penalty when used as the basis for an inaccurate tax return.[10]
  | ''Patriots for Profit'' - SPLCenter.org: Patriots for Profit |
| | Rev. Rul. 2005-21 - Internal Revenue Bulletin - April 4, 2005 - Rev. Rul. 2005-21 |
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