Debunking Sovereign Citizen Myths: Know Your Rights

Today’s blog post is on the controversial and often misunderstood, even misguided efforts of sovereign citizens. This group believes that they are exempt from the laws of the United States, and unfortunately, this belief is growing in other countries. But the consequences can be devasting financially from mortgage foreclosure, to worse, imprisonment.

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As an example, sovereign citizens mistakenly apply the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and the myth of secret government bank accounts, where the U.S. government owes citizens tens of millions of dollars. By debunking these myths, which can destroy families in more ways than one, I hope to provide a clearer understanding of the law and its implications for everyone, including those who identify as sovereign citizens.

Key Points:

• Sovereign citizens believe they are not subject to government laws and regulations.
• Sovereign citizens incorrectly apply the UCC, thinking it exempts them from personal debts, and they routinely cite the UCC as law when it’s not a law.
• The UCC is meant for commercial transactions, not individual consumer debts.
• There is a belief in secret accounts where the government owes individuals millions is unfounded. This can lead to financial ruin and legal trouble.
• Sovereign citizens are losing their homes to foreclosure because of their beliefs.

Shameless Plug

Thank you for coming to today’s blog post. Note, you can listen to this blog post and watch the YouTube video. The link is at the end of this blog.

So I’m styling my Sturgis shirt on even though the rally took place a couple of months ago, but it’s cooling down here, so it’s time to wear my Sturgis T-shirt.

I did ride cross-country twice to Sturgis from Miami. I actually wrote a book about it, which you can find on Amazon. It’s called “25 and 18,” which refers to the number of states I covered in 25 days. I took almost a month off to travel and rode approximately 6,000 miles on the bike.

It was a great time riding cross-country, meeting so many people, etc. The book is even tied into my YouTube videos, so you’ll be able to see some of the locations I visited. Now, let’s get to the discussion at hand.

What is a Sovereign Citizen?

Today, I’m talking about sovereign citizens. If you don’t know what a sovereign citizen is, listen up. Sovereign citizens believe the law doesn’t apply to them. It’s that simple. If you are a sovereign citizen, also listen up because this applies to you, and while you may not like what you hear today, I’m sorry to tell you that everything you think about the law and being a sovereign citizen is BS. None of it is true. People are losing their homes and destroying their lives financially because of it.

There are so many issues that it’s hard to pick one. So, I’ll pick some of the “favorites.” Again, I know it’s not what you want to hear, but you are approaching the law incorrectly, and it’s going to cost you.

The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and Other Theories

First, you constantly cite the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). It says “commercial” in the title. That’s clue number one that it doesn’t apply to you and me; it applies to merchants. Yet, you have this theory that if you write “last payment” or “payment in full” on the memo line of a check to your mortgage lender, you don’t have to pay off the rest of your mortgage. That’s just not how creditor and debtor law works.

When I tell you that the UCC applies to merchants and businesses, not consumers, you argue that you are a corporation. But you’re not. A corporation is a separate legal entity from an individual. They are two separate things.

Another misconception is that you have some sort of secret bank account where the federal government owes you millions of dollars, and you have unlimited credit if you set up a trust account. Well, I have a trust account, and the bank is not going to give me millions of dollars that’s supposedly owed to me.

If you want to look at this from another perspective, you’re basically saying you can dismantle the entire credit-debtor law and industry just by writing “payment in full.” So, if I buy a Ferrari tomorrow and then write “payment in full” on a check the next day, I could walk away with the Ferrari based on the down payment. Think about it. That’s not going to work because it would devastate the entire market.

If we had unlimited money, where would this money come from? Wouldn’t that money be devalued if we’re just printing it and everyone is entitled to tens of millions of dollars? Also, the person behind the “strawman” theory has been in prison multiple times for fraud, so do your research on that. There are also more misconceptions about reporting to credit bureaus based on an over-generalized reading of case law and statutes.

Law School and the I.R.A.C. Method

When it comes to reading case law, the method used is known as the IRAC method: Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. You first have to find the issue and know the rule of law. That’s the easy part, somewhat. A lot of times, knowing the issue is not as obvious as you would think. The conclusion could be one or two sentences, and you’ll still get a good grade. The application or analysis is what matters.

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I see this not only with sovereign citizens but with everyone who takes one sentence out of a 40-50 page ruling and says it applies to them. You can’t extrapolate one sentence from a long ruling and apply it broadly.

For example, we’ve all heard the term, “You can’t yell fire in a crowded movie theater.” Yes, you can, because that’s not the law; it’s known as dictum, which is basically the judge giving their opinion. You have to know what the court’s holding is and apply it to the specific set of facts.

Many people think they can do this, but I have to defend my profession. Law school is three years of reading case law. Not everyone who goes to law school passes or even passes the bar.

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In California, the pass rate was around 65% in one of their better years. Other states have pass rates of 70-80%. These are not great numbers when all you’ve been doing is reading case law and learning how to apply the IRAC method for the last three to four years.

Just reading something online and saying it applies to you is too simplistic. You have to go through all the facts and understand why it does or does not apply. It’s literally not that simple. I teach final-year law students, and they still struggle with these issues. The bar passage rates are not that high, which confirms how difficult this is.

Imagine you go on a website like WebMD and you read a story about someone whose elbow hurts and they have cancer. If your elbow hurts, do you have cancer? It’s jumping to a conclusion based on limited facts. In the same way, that doesn’t apply in medicine; it doesn’t apply to law.

To be clear, there have been endless lawsuits filed by sovereign citizens on these non-existent legal theories, and all the courts have rejected them. One judge even called it “gobbledygook.”

I know we’re all looking for ways to avoid paying our mortgage, but the secret to paying your mortgage is simple: just pay it. Send a check every month. If you make more money, send more money. You can’t wipe out an entire mortgage just by writing “paid in full” on the memo line. That’s not how the law works. If it did, it would devastate the global economy, not just the U.S.

The facts are that mortgages don’t just apply to the bank you got the loan from. They get packaged and resold to other countries and investors. If all these trillions of dollars in mortgages—around $11 trillion—could be wiped out just by writing something on the memo line, the entire world economy would collapse. There’s a reason why the mortgage foreclosure crisis of 2008 wasn’t exclusive to certain areas. It had a global effect.

The Great Depression in the 1920s and 30s would pale in comparison to the economic collapse that would occur if everyone could simply write “paid in full” on a check to eliminate their debts. There would be no bread line to wait in line for because there would be no bread.

I tell my students all the time: if you’re reading a case and it doesn’t make sense, start applying it to yourself and ask, “Does this make sense if I were in that position?” If it doesn’t, then you’ve probably misinterpreted it, or the information is wrong.

If the issue is debt management strategies, then stick to my blog and YouTube videos. If you are looking to build wealth, then the same thing. Depending on credible sources and experienced individuals, but relying on tricks will likely lead to trouble down the road.

I even had one client show me a TikTok video, posted by I don’t know who, but this guy definitely was not an expert on the issue of credit reporting, as he cited random sections of Federal law. Yet, the number of subscribers he had was nauseating while he continued to push ignorance or lies on the subject.

Likewise, telling cops that the laws don’t apply to you is the quickest way to get arrested. It’s simple: if you’re in this country, the laws apply to you. If you’re visiting another country, like Peru, its laws apply to you. It doesn’t matter if you’re on vacation; the laws still apply.

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So take it from me: stop messing with your financial future. People are going into foreclosure based on discredited books and legal theories. You’re losing your house, which you worked so hard for, because of these crazy theories about individuals being corporations and being entitled to unlimited funding. It simply doesn’t work that way. Trust me, if it did, I would have taken advantage of that a long time ago.

Common sense. Use it. If you have any questions, ask me, but do not let your home go into foreclosure based on these radical ideas. They are not even legal theories; they are non-existent. Don’t get arrested for this misinformation because, trust me, the person who spread those lies or misinformation isn’t going to bail you out of this situation.

You are just begging for trouble. So I am begging you: don’t do it. You’re going to lose more than you bargained for, and you don’t deserve that just because of myths and disinformation out there.

Always go to a credible source, not some random person online or a social media post. I’ve always said, question me if you think I’ve said something wrong. I am a bankruptcy expert; my resume and experience confirm that. But when I tell you something is blue, go confirm it’s blue on your own. That’s how confident I am in what I’m saying.

Take care of yourselves. Travel like I did during these fun times. Enjoy yourselves, and with Thanksgiving coming up, I wish you all a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Colleges and universities can purchase my bankruptcy law textbook directly from Routledge Publishing. For paralegals and students buying single copies, you can do so via Amazon Books. To access my YouTube channel, click this link.

Need to look for prior blog posts or other categories? Click the links below or use the search feature at the top of the page:

• Bankruptcy
• Your Wallet

Please note that the information on this site does not constitute legal advice and should be considered for informational purposes only.

This transcript was edited for clarity.

Updated on May 8, 2025.