Hours before convicted conservation-easement fraudster Alan DeAtley apologized to his victims and , he filed a lengthy federal lawsuit challenging Colorado’s authority to prosecute him.
DeAtley, 61, claims the conservation easements he helped establish in Colorado are on the land of a Native American tribe whose sovereignty negates any efforts at holding him accountable for his alleged crimes, according to a handwritten complaint filed April 6 in U.S. District Court in Denver.
But the Latgawa tribe DeAtley says owns and controls the easements isn’t recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, and has been described by established tribes as . The alleged tribe made headlines in Oregon in 2010 over claims that government was encroaching on tribal lands without permission.
Two men — Richard Lee Davis and David Zamzow — were indicted by a Denver grand jury with DeAtley in October 2010 over abuses in the state’s conservation easement program.
Davis, who calls himself Chief Red Hawk, had his signatures appear on a number of documents tied to the easement.
The men allegedly purchased a 506-acre spread of vacant land in Walden for $130,000, then divided the property between 15 straw companies, according to their 2010 indictment.
DeAtley now claims the land was actually Latgawa tribal land — members have said their lands stretch from Oregon to Montana and Colorado — and that only a tribal court can administer any justice, according to his federal complaint.
No such court officially exists.
DeAtley delayed his Denver trial for years by firing several attorneys, filing a number of motions deemed frivolous and other tactics. Prosecutors said there were not surprised by his federal petition.
“This is what he does: tries to get off on a technicality or blame someone else. It’s all he’s ever done,” said Joe Morales, the assistant Denver district attorney who prosecuted DeAtley. “Well, he’s certainly got plenty of time on his hands right now to do more of it. And he will.”
DeAtley’s petition claims money from the tax-credit sales was to be used for other Latgawa projects. Prosecutors said nearly all the money DeAtley raised from the bogus sales is gone.
DeAtley was sentenced to 83 years in prison for his role in brokering tax credits related to the conservation easement, often selling the credits twice. He was also ordered to pay $6.9 million restitution and penalties.
Zamzow pleaded guilty in July 2011 to misdemeanor forgery in connection with the easement investigation and was sentenced to two years of probation and fined $10,000, Denver court records show. The charge was later dismissed after completing his probation.
Charges against Davis were dropped.
The state’s easement program exchanges tax credits for keeping pristine land undeveloped. The credits can be sold for cash to other taxpayers.
In several cases, , then pocketed $3.5 million in profits. The land was eventually deemed worth much less than DeAtley claimed.
DeAtley’s victims included auto dealer John Medved, several real estate developers, and Sheri and Richard Schmelzer, the inventors of Jibbitz, the charms that fit into the holes of Crocs shoes.
Before he was sentenced, DeAtley apologized to his victims in the courtroom, promising he would pay them back.
No hearing date has been scheduled on the federal petition.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506, dmigoya@denverpost.com or @davidmigoya
