Albany

A former Columbia County orthodontist turned "elder" in the anti-government sovereign citizen movement was convicted Monday of trying to scam the Internal Revenue Service of more than $36 million.

Glenn Unger, 62, could only watch the verdict via video from a cell in the Rensselaer County jail. Unger's antics during the four-day trial before U.S. District Court Senior Judge Thomas McAvoy convinced the judge last week to boot Unger from the courtroom, where he had been representing himself.

Unger first refused to deliver an opening statement in his own defense, then lectured the judge. McAvoy, who had warned Unger his conduct could get him removed from the courtroom, had Unger removed for being disruptive. A federal public defender, George Baird, who was watching on standby, became Unger's attorney.

The jury began deliberating Monday morning and took only until lunchtime to convict Unger of all seven counts he faced. The charges included obstructing the IRS, filing false tax claims for tax refunds, tax evasion and Unger's attempt to scam a fellow orthodontist.

Unger, a former Albany resident who once operated Columbia County Orthodontics in Chatham, filed 14 false tax returns seeking more than $36 million in refunds from the IRS between 2007 and 2011.

Unger, who left his dental business in 2006, told orthodontist William O'Donnell he was leaving to do "missionary work" and referred O'Donnell about 80 of his patients. But Unger neglected to tell O'Donnell the patients had prepaid. After O'Donnell complained, Unger gave him a bogus promissory note to make it appear O'Donnell could reap $200,000 from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. O'Donnell tried to deposit it at his bank, only to learn it was fictitious and worthless.

Unger, in turn, tried unsuccessfully to be refunded $200,000 from the government.

Unger technically faces 25 years in prison at his March 10 sentencing, but would likely receive a lesser sentence under federal sentencing guidelines. Arguments on his sentence will be presented to the judge by Unger's defense and federal prosecutors, who included Assistant U.S. Attorney Ransom Reynolds and Jeffrey Bender of the Department of Justice's tax division.

The conviction ends a bizarre case in which Unger essentially told the U.S. court system it had no jurisdiction over him. At various court appearances, Unger went into diatribes using arcane and cryptic language.

"This trial detailed the callous contempt for state and federal authority that is the hallmark of the sovereign citizen movement," U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian said in a statement. He promised to "aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone who refuses to honor every citizen's duty to file honest tax returns and pay their taxes."

The FBI considers sovereign citizens a potential domestic terrorism threat. Timothy Nichols, who helped plot the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, was a member of the movement. In 2010, sovereign extremists killed two police officers in Arkansas.

Unger was a founding member of the Guardians of the Free Republics, the nation's largest sovereign citizen group, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization. It classified sovereign citizens as a subset of the "Patriot" and "militia" movements.

The FBI interviewed Unger in 2010 after learning that the Guardians of the Free Republics had mailed letters to every U.S. governor suggesting they could be "removed." Unger told the FBI his real name was "Dr. Sam Kennedy." He had used that moniker in Internet radio broadcasts from Albany and at seminars where Unger gave details on how to scam the IRS. At least 15 Unger disciples around the country were later charged as well. Unger had not filed legal tax returns since 1999.

When State Police arrested Unger in St. Lawrence County on Dec. 29, he identified himself as a "1922 silver dollar coin." It is believed to be a reference to the United States going off the gold standard, which sovereign citizens believe destroyed the country.

Federal prosecutors have said that when Unger lived in Ogdensburg he kept assault rifles and an Uzi 9 mm handgun in his home. He also once stashed in a Rensselaer County storage facility printed documents about armor-piercing ammunition, grenade launching devices, and chlorine, pipe and envelope bombs, according to court papers.

rgavin@timesunion.com • 518-434-2403 • @RobertGavinTU