An anti-government activist from Oregon who claims to be a 'sovereign citizen' and has failed to pay taxes for the last 20 years is now considered a fugitive.

Winston Shrout claims the U.S. government is illegitimate and has no authority over him.

The 70-year-old has used that as an excuse to avoid paying taxes for decades and has created fake bills which he claims is worth $100 trillion.

In 2017 he was convicted for issuing fake financial documents to banks and the U.S. Treasury and for willful failure to file taxes from 2009 to 2014.

In October 2018 he was sentenced to 10 years in jail. But Shrout failed to report to a federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon on March 4, leading a federal judge to issue a warrant for his arrest.

As of April 22 Shrout had still not been arrested and the Bureau of Prisons still did not have him listed in custody on their website, as per the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Oregon man and anti-government activist Winston Shrout, 70, is considered a fugitive after he failed to report to jail on March 4. In 2017 he was found guilty of issuing fake financial documents to banks and the U.S. Treasury and for willful failure to file taxes

Shrout's lawyers have delayed his prison report date at least three times before through motions until the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered him to start serving his jail time.

He's one of many 'sovereign citizens' who believe they are not subject to the law.

He had made hundreds of 'International Bills of Exchange' for himself and others, claiming they were worth more than $100trillion.

But prosecutors said they were worthless.

At his 2017 trial, prosecutors presented evidence that showed that for five years ending in 2014, Shrout had more than $500,000 in gross income, including pension payments, speaking fees from seminars, and money made from selling DVDs and his own merchandise.

Shrout is a 'sovereign citizen' who refused to pay taxes for the past 20 years and was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2018. He failed to report to jail and as of April 22 was still on the run, despite a warrant being out for his arrest. Pictured above on his YouTube channel where he counsels followers on how to avoid paying taxes

He ran a business called Winston Shrout Solutions where he counseled clients on how to avoid paying taxes. Pictured above advertising an event where he'd teach about 'removing commercial karma', a fraudulent financial concept

He also ran a business called Winston Shrout Solutions in Commerce, Oregon, where he counseled clients on how to avoid paying taxes.

What is the sovereign citizen movement? The sovereign citizen movement is a loose group of Americans who believe they're not subject to U.S. law They believe the U.S. government is illegitimate The group is knows as tax protesters and financial-scheme promoters Many refuse to pay their taxes The doctrines of the movement resemble that of the 'freemen on the land' found in Britain and Canada According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the movement is founded on racism and anti-Semitism There is no central leadership or organized group members can join Advertisement

In his trial he told jurors: 'So I stopped paying income tax, and I stopped filing for income tax returns. That's been well over 20 years ago,' Shrout said during his trial as per The Oregonian.

His attorneys claimed he was mentally incompetent to face a sentence hearing but U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones rejected that claim. Shrout was then sentenced to 10 years in jail in October 2018.

In 2010 the Southern Poverty Law Center identified Shrout as one of the 12-most prominent leaders of the 'sovereign citizen' movement.

He and other leaders of the movement sell phony and nonsensical schemes to avoid paying taxes, eliminate debt, and extract government money.

His consulting business website was last online on August 28, 2018 but is no longer active.

He also runs a YouTube page where he discusses debt, taxes and 'commercial karma'.