Thanks to original reporting by Steve Fry @cjonline.com
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Kent D. Lindemuth, 65, of Topeka, has been charged with 107 counts of bankruptcy fraud, six counts of money laundering, and one count of perjury. Of the bankruptcy fraud charges, 103 of these allegations have to do with the purchase of firearms.
Lindemuth has been in a long running bankruptcy case that has been reported in the press over the last year.
The FBI’s joint terrorism task force became aware of Lindemuth after he purchased 2,166 firearms worth $1.422 Million. Lindemuth concealed these purchases from his bankruptcy estate by using a business account to pay for the guns. A person who files for bankruptcy is required to disclose all assets to the court.
Lindemuth insisted to investigators in a taped interview that the firearms were “not part of the bankruptcy.”
Lindemuth, who made millions, signed a document acknowledging he that knew all of the bankruptcy requirements. These requirements included disclosing all assets to the bankruptcy court. It appears that Lindemuth might have been trying to hide the guns from authorities. Investigators recovered them from four different 10 feet by 10 feet storage units.
The firearms were all of very high quality. The collection included a Colt Python .357-Magnum revolver that has been made famous to the general public by Rick Grimes on the show “The Walking Dead.” This gun was estimated to have a value of $1,750 by three experts that included an expert that was retained by Lindemuth’s defense.
Another gun made famous by Hollywood is the Smith & Wesson model 29 that was carried by Harry Callahan in the movie “Dirty Harry.” Lindemuth seemed to have an affinity for this gun because investigators recovered 74 of the legendary revolvers from the storage locker.
Lindemuth also had high priced custom firearms in his collection. One custom firearms was an AR15 that was appraised by the three experts to be worth $2,300. Another custom firearm was a Beretta shotgun that had a value of $3,400.
Some of the guns found in the storage units appeared to have been shot by Lindemuth, but it also seems that Lindemuth did not clean the firearms. Investigators found all of the weapons in boxes or plastic zipper storage containers. There were no precautions taken to prevent rust or other environmental hazards.
Also, investigators found some of the firearms were still loaded. Investigators used a five-gallon bucket to store the ammunition removed from the guns. At the end of the examination, the bucket was half full of cartridges.
Investigators were able to recover 835 pistols which were estimated to have a value of $604,786. There we also 929 revolvers in Lindemuth’s collection including a Colt Trooper chambered in .357 magnum. The cost of the revolvers was estimated to be $588,872.
On top of the handguns, Lindemuth has an extensive collection of long guns. This group included 253 rifles including the AR15 mentioned above. The total value of the rifles was a mind-boggling $151,096. He also had 149 shotguns that experts say were worth $78,025. This evaluation brings the total value of Lindemuth’s gun collection to a staggering $1,422,779 for all 2,166 guns.
Lindemuth seems to have tried to dodge the IRS by paying for these guns out of a business account set up as “Gas and More/U-Haul of Topeka.” This deception is very illegal and landed Lindemuth with a charge of money laundering.
Lindemuth told investigators, “I have the right to do whatever I want to do,” when referring to the businesses incomes.
Lindemuth also had an undetermined amount of black powder rifles, air guns, and flare guns. The amount and value of these were not disclosed to the court hearing but were listed by the prosecution in court documents as unclaimed assets.
Guns were not the only thing Lindemuth failed to disclose during his bankruptcy hearing. He also purchased two very highly collectible Shelby Mustangs. He bought these for a total of $240,000. It appears he tried to hide these purchases by tilting the cars to a business named “Lindy’s Autos.”
The court case started on November 29th 2017. The trial is expected to last between five and ten days.
About John Crump
John is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot-News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on the history of the patriot movement and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss or at www.crumpy.com.