Florida man launches 'United States Private Dollar'

It's Saturday morning cartoon time. Angel Cruz, a Kissimmee man---Kissimmee is just south of Orlando---is launching 'The United States Private Dollar,' which he claims will rival the U.S. dollar. Now two Kissimmee organizations are under investigation for issuing "worthless checks" to employees who believed in their scheme.

Victor Manuel Ramos of the Orlando Sentinel has the story in today's edition:

Thursday evening, the nonprofit JC Consultores Laborales released a statement distancing itself from financial partner The United Cities Corp., which printed checks deemed fraudulent by a federal agency. The nonprofit used those checks to pay its workers.

In the statement, the nonprofit's president, Josefina Calderon, said she was "very concerned" about the lack of payment to several dozen employees for "not only the hours worked but the monthly expenses too."

This is a real story, in a real newspaper. These guys claim they have $300 million in paper on the streets now...

Cruz denied his project is having any problems. It's all a misunderstanding. Everyone will get what's coming to them---his "private dollars"---

and the U.S. banking system and government will have to accept them "because what [federal officials] have done is illegal."

Here's what Cruz promised 60 employees at JC Consultores Laborales and an unknown number of workers at 32 other companies:

• jobs, ranging from maintenance worker to human-resources director
• all their debts paid off
• 30-year job contracts
• a new car
• free health insurance
• a house
• all paid in "United States Private Dollars"

Last week, the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued an alert warning banks that United Cities' checks were "valueless instruments" and should not be cashed.

Cruz estimates there are about $300 million worth of "United States Private Dollars" in circulation with affiliated members in Orlando, Miami and other parts of the U.S.

•  geez

  People will believe anything.

  by BDA in VA on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 06:58:23 AM PDT

•  Don't they say..

  "Bad money drives out good money"?

  by Malacandra on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:05:18 AM PDT

•  Sounds like another "redemption" scheme

  as described by the Southern Poverty Law Center, here.

  by ticket punch on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:14:48 AM PDT

•  Holy cow

  free market forces at work...competition is good right ?

  by ScienceMom on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:32:18 AM PDT

•  Clue for Angel

  What Angel Cruz doesn’t realize is one needs an FBI, T-men and an army behind them before they can issue unsecured paper money or privatize in the public arena. He seems to have gotten the horse before the cart and will soon discover the Fed doesn’t allow competition or Johnny-come-lately swindlers.

  by Bobjack23 on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:33:34 AM PDT

  •  lol

    Ever hear Ron Paul carry on about the currency? "We need to repeal the entire year 1913."...

    Funny McCain Pics archive updated regularly

    by InsultComicDog on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:43:44 AM PDT

•  Liberty Dollars

  Ugh...this reminds me of those idiots that use Liberty Dollars. It is a group that mints their own silver coins (because silver is an "inflation proof" currency...whatever) and then sell them for twice the price of the silver content.  People then go out into the community and try to use them as real currency...and then get in deep trouble. Believe it or not, this is not illegal.  If you develop a novel barter system with a serious of merchants, this is completely legal (just like the "company token" days in which workers traded inherently valueless tokens for items in a company store).  The problem comes when someone tries to use the dollars in a store that does not take the Liberty Dollars...which happens all the damn time.  I see the complaints on coin chat boards.  

  My question to the makers of Liberty Dollars would be: "If my greenbacks are so worthless, why are you accepting them as payment?"

  These movements typically prey upon the "militia man type" that don't trust the U.S. monetary system.  The person they idolize is Ron Paul because of wacky statements he has made about the Federal Reserve system.

  by Mote Dai on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:37:04 AM PDT

  •  "This note is legal tender for all debts,

    public and private"

    --the government's way of tellng you that your greenbacks MUST be accepted...

    Funny McCain Pics archive updated regularly

    by InsultComicDog on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:46:13 AM PDT

•  What IS in the water in Florida?!........eom

  by mudslide on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:38:34 AM PDT

•  not at all like this...

  http://www.ithacahours.org/ local currency used and accepted by businesses in Ithaca, NY.

  Given the surnames of those involved this is probably a speciic attempt to scam recent Hispanic immigrants.

  by xPOPSx on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:48:44 AM PDT

•  Privatizing the Treasury

  You would Republicans would be all for this.

  by jhecht on Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 07:58:42 AM PDT