Separatist, Followers Accused of Fraud

Texas separatist Richard McLaren and his followers tried to bilk banks and creditors of $1.8 billion in what they hoped would be “the biggest corporate takeover ever,” a federal prosecutor in Dallas charged. McLaren boasted to Republic of Texas members about his plan in a 1996 meeting at his headquarters in the West Texas mountains, prosecutor Mike Uhl said during opening statements in the fraud trial of McLaren and his wife, Evelyn. He and eight followers, who claim Texas was illegally annexed by the United States, are on trial for allegedly bilking companies, including Visa and American Express, out of millions of dollars. McLaren’s defense lawyer Tom Mills said his client honestly believed that Texas had been illegally annexed by the United States.