Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
February 8, 2010 United States Attorney's Office
Western District of Missouri
Contact: (816) 426-3122

Three Men Sentenced for Conspiracy to Use Fake Diplomatic Identification

KANSAS CITY, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that three men with connections to the sovereign citizen movement were sentenced in federal court today for participating in a conspiracy to use fraudulent diplomatic credentials.

David L. Robinson, 67, of Lawrence, Kansas; Daniel W. Denham, 51, of Kingsville, Missouri; and Larry P. Goodyke, 53, of Henderson, Nevada, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple. Robinson was sentenced to six years and three months in federal prison without parole. Denham and Goodyke were each sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole.

The three co-defendants were involved in various sovereign citizen groups that reject governmental authority and claim that most branches of the federal government are illegitimate entities. They were convicted by a federal jury on Aug. 31, 2009.

Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Robinson, Denham and Goodyke participated in a conspiracy to use, as well as to buy and sell, fraudulent diplomatic identification cards beginning sometime prior to July 11, 2006, until Oct. 18, 2007. The three-by-four-inch laminated cards, which identified the bearer as an “Ambassador,â€