Jonathan Lee Riches

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Jonathan Lee Riches is a convicted fraudster known for the many lawsuits he has filed in various United States district courts.[1] Riches was incarcerated at Federal Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky, for wire fraud under the terms of a plea bargain. His release date was April 30, 2012.[2] He was arrested for violating his federal probation in December 2012, when he left the Eastern District of the state of Pennsylvania without permission. He drove to Connecticut and impersonated the uncle of Adam Lanza, the shooter in the Sandy Hook Elementary School incident.[3]

History

Since January 8, 2006, he has filed over 2600[4] lawsuits in federal district courts across the country,[5] some of which have received considerable press attention.[6] Among the more famous defendants of his lawsuits are New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick,[7] former President of the United States George W. Bush,[8] former Attorney General of the United States Janet Reno,[9] Martha Stewart,[10] NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon,[11] former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick,[12][13] entrepreneur Steve Jobs,[14] celebrity blogger Perez Hilton,[15] Somali pirates,[16] and pop star Britney Spears.[17] He also sued the late Benazir Bhutto, Pervez Musharraf, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service on November 7, 2007, to prevent him from being deported to Pakistan and tortured upon his release from prison in March 2012.[18] There is no known evidence of any attempt to deport Riches.

On April 9, 2008, Riches filed a request for a temporary restraining order in a US District Court against Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two, developer Rockstar Games, FCI Williamsburg, and Grand Theft Auto itself, claiming that the defendants "put me in prison." The inmate stated, "Defendants contributed to Plaintiff committing identity theft. Defendant's games show sex, drugs and violence which offends me." Riches continued, "Defendants put me in prison. I face imminent danger from violent inmates who played Grand Theft Auto who will knock me out and take my gold Jesus cross."[19]

Riches attempted to intervene as a plaintiff in the Madoff investment scandal, claiming that he "met Bernard Madoff on eharmony.com in 2001" and taught Madoff identity theft skills.[20]

In May 2009, Riches filed for an injunction against the Guinness Book of World Records, seeking to stop them from listing him as "the most litigious individual in history".[21] Guinness spokeswoman Sara Wilcox told The Huffington Post that there was no such listing, and no plan to create one. "'Most litigious man' is not something Guinness World Records has ever monitored as a record category," she said. The action—like the vast majority of Riches's filings—was dismissed.[3]

Some of Riches's defendants are not even persons subject to suit. These include "Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party" and the "13 tribes of Israel."[22] One lawsuit, in which George W. Bush was the first-named defendant, also includes another 790 defendants that cover 57 pages. They include Plato, Nostradamus, Che Guevara, James Hoffa, "Various Buddhist Monks," all survivors of the Holocaust, the Lincoln Memorial, the Eiffel Tower, the Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities"., the book Mein Kampf, the Garden of Eden, the Roman Empire, the Appalachian Trail, Plymouth Rock, the Holy Grail, Nordic gods, the dwarf planet Pluto, and the entire Three Mile Island accident.[23]

A number of Riches's lawsuits have been dismissed as being "frivolous, malicious" or for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.[12] Willis Hunt, the U.S. District Court Judge who dismissed Riches's suit against Vick as "farcical," opined that his lawsuits were clearly self-promotional. As per 28 U.S. Code § 1915(g), he is barred from proceeding in forma pauperis.[24]

In July 2018, Riches was indicted by a federal grand jury in Arizona. He is charged with making false statements and other frauds after an attempt to file a lawsuit against Gabby Giffords while posing as Jared Lee Loughner.[25]

A collection of Riches's lawsuits was published on April Fools' Day of 2016.[26]

In November 2018, Riches self-published Nothing is Written in Stone: A Jonathan Lee Riches Companion, which contains a selection of his lawsuits as well as an autobiography.[27] Riches runs a YouTube channel, "JLR Investigates", where he claims to be an investigative reporter.[28]

See also

References

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  1. ↑ South Carolina inmate hits Michael Vick with '$63,000,000,000 Billion Dollar' lawsuit alleging Al Qaeda ties Fox News. (August 15, 2007) Retrieved October 2, 2007.
  2. ↑ Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator Template:Webarchive Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  3. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ US Pacer US Party/Case Index Website maintained by the federal courts; search for Jonathan Riches prisoner cases on March 3, 2008 returned 1017 cases.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
  6. ↑ "Man of Many Suits", Emil Steiner, The Washington Post Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
  7. ↑ Belichick Scandal Widens Template:Webarchive TSG
  8. ↑ Howard, Brian. (April 13–19, 2006). Trial of the century Template:Webarchive. Philadelphia City Paper. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Prisoner known for suing celebrities takes on Martha Stewart Template:Webarchive Boston.com, in connection with The Boston Globe. (September 19, 2007). Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  11. ↑ Saxon, Eric. (2007). Inmate files federal complaint against NASCAR star Jeff Gordon Template:Webarchive wsoctv.com. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  12. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Transcript: 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for August 15 NBC News. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  14. ↑ Jade, Kasper. (September 25, 2007).Inmate's suit claims O.J. Simpson is "hitman" for Steve Jobs Template:Webarchive. Apple Insider. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ 2008 West Law 612788
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Inmate Files Restraining Order Against 'Grand Theft Auto' Makers FoxNews.com. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
  20. ↑ Motion to Authorize to intervene under Rule 7042 & Rule 24(A)2, 24(B) filed by Jonathan Lee Riches. Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Madoff Trustee Site. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Emil Steiner, Man of Many Suits, Jonathan Lee Riches Sues Everyone and Everything Script error: No such module "Unsubst"., Washington Post, August 23, 2007
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ https://youtube.com/@jonathanleerichesinvestigates?si=lW3_zSDn6kH1P0u2

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