Bust in bank ‘threat’
A Queens man, described by authorities as a member of the fringe “sovereign citizen” movement, was arrested yesterday by the FBI after threatening to attack a bank with “deadly force,” officials said.
Michael Chung, 53, of Bayside, was busted after faxing a letter to an eastern Pennsylvania bank invoking the Constitution to justify using force to to protect his “interests,” following a dispute over a home-equity loan.
“We believe the defendant has access to a firearm. There is a real risk of danger here,” Assistant US Attorney Michael Yaeger told a judge.
Brooklyn federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein ordered Chung held without bail.
The FBI said Chung made threats to a Sovereign Bank in Pottsville, Pa., after the bank refused to wipe off a $179,000 loan balance to aid Chung’s efforts to sell his apartment.
Investigators believe Chung belongs to the “sovereign citizen” movement, which challenges the authority of the federal government, sources said.
