Dominion Of Melchizedek
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The Dominion of Melchizedek (DoM) is a
micronation A micronation is a polity, political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from list o ...
known for facilitating large scale banking
fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
in many parts of the world during the 1990s and early 2000s.


Origin and status

The Dominion of Melchizedek was unilaterally declared in 1990 by U.S. citizen Mark Pedley, possibly with his father, David Pedley. Mark Pedley also uses a number of pseudonyms, including "Tzemach Ben David Netzer Korem" and "Branch Vinedresser". It borrows its name from the biblical king and priest
Melchizedek In the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abraham, and El Elyon or "the Lord, Go ...
. When created, the DoM first laid claim to the Colombian island of Malpelo, a small island 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Colombia. Later, it invented the Karitane Shoal in the South Pacific, which is supposedly completely submerged for part of the day;
Clipperton Island Clipperton Island ( ; ), also known as Clipperton Atoll and previously as Clipperton's Rock, is an uninhabited French coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The only French territory in the North Pacific, Clipperton is from Paris, France ...
, an overseas possession of France which lies 1,500 miles west of Nicaragua; and ''Taongi'', otherwise known as
Bokak Atoll Bokak Atoll ( Marshallese: or , ) or Taongi Atoll is an uninhabited coral atoll in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands, in the North Pacific Ocean. Due to its relative isolation from the main islands in the group, Bokak's flora and fauna has ...
, an uninhabited Micronesian atoll falling under the administration of the Government of the
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...
. Representatives of the DoM were banned from entering the island of
Rotuma Rotuma () is a self-governing heptarchy, generally designated a Local government in Fiji, dependency of Fiji. Rotuma commonly refers to the Rotuma Island, the only permanently inhabited and by far the largest of all the islands in the Rotuma Gro ...
after their involvement with dissident groups seeking to secede from
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
, with whom they had signed agreements to lease land on the islands of Rotuma and its neighbour Solkope. It also claims the portion of
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
unclaimed by sovereign states, from 90 degrees to 150 degrees west, known as
Marie Byrd Land Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of , it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It was named after the wife of American naval officer Richard E. Byrd, who explored the region in the early 20th centu ...
. It has been described as "non-existent" by the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
, and as a "non-recognised sovereignty" by the U.S.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to corporate charter, charter, bank regulation ...
. It appears on an EU list of
fantasy passport A camouflage passport is a document, designed to look like a real passport, issued in the name of a non-existent country or entity. It may be sold with matching documents, such as an international driver's license, club membership card, insuranc ...
s issued by private individuals or organisations. Media reports have described it as a "virtual country", as a "ruse", and as a "phony country".


Marshall Islands statement

In response to one of DoM's territorial claims, the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands issued the following statement in April 1998:


Claims of recognition

On the DoM's official website, they claim a number of nations have recognized their sovereignty, with links to supporting documents. Upon closer examination, a number of these are merely correspondence acknowledging various requests made of these established states, or appear to be responses to offers of financial support. Of the entire list, only one appears to be actual verifiable recognition: from the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
. According to ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', the Central African Republic extended
diplomatic recognition Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be acc ...
to the DoM in 1993, but the ''Post'' article went on to remark, "you get the feeling that the Central African Republic would recognize the State of Denial if it had a letterhead." An article in the ''Quatloos!'', online anti-fraud site, noted that "Melchizedek has apparently obtained some sort of recognition from some smaller states ... all of which are notable for their corruption. Claims that the DoM has received recognition from any major government are purely lies."


Frauds linked to the Dominion of Melchizedek

Soon after its inception, the DoM started selling documents purporting to charter or licence companies. By the end of the 1990s, the DoM claimed that some 300 banking licenses had been sold. DoM apologists have suggested that there is no link between Melchizedek and the illegal activities conducted by "banks" it has "licensed"; however, John Shockey, a former special assistant in the office of the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, has stated:
Melchizedek first came to my attention in June 1990, a few months after Mark Pedley was paroled from a 1986 conviction. Inquiries were received concerning bank names: Banco de Asia, Guardian Savings & Guaranty and Express Bank among others. Investigations that these entities had bank charters from the DOM and obtained through an entity named Consortium Finance Corporation headquartered in Lake Tahoe, California. Further investigation disclosed a principal alternately named John Hayden and Branch Vinedresser. Shortly thereafter the FBI took Branch Vinedresser into custody and revealed that he was Mark Pedley, who then was charged with violations of his parole.
In the same address Stockey also stated that: "The Dominion of Melchizedek is a fraud, a major fraud, and not a legitimate sovereign entity. Persons associated with the Dominion of Melchizedek have been indicted and convicted of a variety of crimes." In 1991, in Washington, D.C, shell banks that were subsidiaries of a Melchizedekian company tried to secure loans from real banks based on fake DoM securities, but were closed down before they succeeded. One of the men involved, Steve Peterson, later pleaded guilty to fraud and theft charges in another case in Arizona after using a company chartered in DoM. In Hong Kong, Gerhard Bacher used cheques issued by phoney Melchizedek banks to open accounts in legitimate Hong Kong banks; he was sentenced to 6 months in prison. In 1995, in the UK, an organisation that was making use of a DoM licensed bank was barred from doing business. A so-called "60/40 Investment Programme" offered by Credit Bank International, run by Roger Rosemont and registered in the DoM, was a
Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...
that convinced at least 1,400 people to invest over $4,000,000. Companies with links to the DoM have been used in insurance fraud schemes. In Texas in 1996, after pleading guilty to insurance fraud, Jeffrey Reynolds was sentenced to 52 months in prison and ordered to repay $475,802 in premiums he had collected for bogus insurance policies. The companies he was using had been licensed in the DoM. Later in the same year, and also in Texas, Leon Hooten's New Zealand-registered companies were prevented from selling insurance when they were found to be capitalised with worthless assets issued by the DoM. Businessman Rogério Cavaco Silva, brother of former
President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic (, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister ...
Aníbal Cavaco Silva Aníbal António Cavaco Silva (; born 15 July 1939) is a Portuguese economist and politician who served as the 19th president of Portugal, from 9 March 2006 to 9 March 2016, and as prime minister of Portugal, from 6 November 1985 to 25 October ...
, was conned out of
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
35,000 in 1996 which was supposed to guarantee a loan to complete a hotel in the Algarve. Six Portuguese perpetrators, who conned a total of 39 businesspeople (including Cavaco Silva) between 1996 and 1999, were sentenced in 2007 to several periods in prison, the longest of which was six years. The DoM has also been involved in selling passports widely regarded as fraudulent, misrepresenting them as internationally recognised. In 1998, three individuals purporting to be officials of the DoM were arrested in the Philippines. The ringleader, John Gillespie, an Australian felon who was involved in the Fine Cotton horse substitution scam, eluded capture. The passport scam grossed an estimated US$1,000,000 from hundreds of individuals, with some paying up to $3,500 for these documents. Across all the purported schemes DoM has been accused of involvement in, one source estimates that the total value of funds raised may exceed US$500 million.


Principal figures


David Evan Pedley

After being convicted of several financial crimes in the 1970s, including stock fraud, David Pedley was incarcerated. He claimed the charges were false and the result of a "witch-hunt" against him. While incarcerated, he started a cattle business, which his son Mark operated for him in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. While in Mexican custody Pedley apparently died, though the circumstances are not clear. A closed casket funeral was held in
Altadena, California Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, California, Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtow ...
in 1987. At the funeral, FBI agents approached the Pedley family and requested to fingerprint David Pedley's body. This request was denied by the family and allegedly some government regulators believed that Pedley was still alive. Pedley is the co-author, with his son, of the Melchizedek Bible.


Mark Logan Pedley

Mark Logan Pedley (born 19 July 1953), later changed to Mark Wellington and also known as "Tzemach Ben David Netzer Korem" and "Branch Vinedresser" (a translation of his Hebrew name Tzemach Korem), is the son of David Pedley and was the Head of the House of Elders, Vice President, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the DoM. Pedley is the co-author, with his father, of the Melchizedek Bible. In 1983, Pedley was convicted of mail and interstate fraud relating to a land fraud in California and jailed for three years. Shortly after his release, he was again successfully prosecuted in 1986 for a $6 million currency fraud scheme that was operated in 1982–83; he was jailed for eight years and fined $25,000. Having been paroled in 1990, he set up the Dominion of Melchizedek. His parole was revoked in late 1991 due to a violation of his conditions, arising from his promotion of a fictitious country, and was returned to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. In 1994, following his release, Pedley married Pearlasia Gamboa, who was made president of Melchizedek. In 2010, under the name Tzemach David Netzer Korem, he was charged with, and later pleaded guilty to, share manipulation regarding ZNext Mining. ZNext Mining was investigated by a multi-agency taskforce as part of Operation Broken Trust, a US-wide operation in 2010 that targeted
investment fraud Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
. In 2011 he was sentenced to two years in prison; he was released in 2012.


Pearlasia Gamboa

Pearlasia Gamboa was president of the Dominion of Melchizedek. She is married to Mark Pedley. She is a
Filipino-American Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...
businesswoman who has been involved in controversial banking and investments. She was prevented from operating companies that were purporting to be banks in
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
and California. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Gamboa in 2009, alleging that she had used fictitious reports of gold mining operations to profit by fraudulently selling shares, siphoning off more than $1 million. A judgment was ordered against her in August 2010 totaling $1.8 million; a $650,000 fine for the ZNext corporation, and $1.18 million for Gamboa personally. Gamboa was also permanently barred from selling penny stocks. As of 2011 she had still not paid the fine and was attempting to have the decision overturned.


See also

*
List of micronations Micronations, sometimes also referred to as ''model countries'' and ''new country projects'', are small, self-proclaimed entities that assert their sovereignty as independent states but which are not acknowledged as such by any of the recognise ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melchizedek, Dominion Of Finance fraud Micronations West Antarctica micronations Melchizedek