A Derby man who claims America’s monetary system is invalid is acting as his own attorney in a bank fraud trial in U. S. District Court.

Shane C. Buczek, 40, denies allegations that he scammed HSBC Bank and a Best Buy appliances store out of nearly $9,000 worth of items, including a 52-inch flat screen television with surround sound, and a washer and dryer.

His trial began Tuesday before U. S. District Judge William M. Skretny. Buczek claims the U. S. attorney’s office has a vendetta against him and also claims that the nation’s money is worthless because it is not backed by gold or silver.

According to court papers, Buczek in 2008 opened up an HSBC Visa account at a Best Buy store and then tried to pay his Visa bill by giving bank officials a routing number linked to a non-existent account with a financial institution.

Later, Buczek tried to pay for the appliances by sending the bank a “bonded promissory note.”

According to Matthew T. Johnson, a U. S. Treasury Department official who testified Thursday, the promissory note referred to “a $500 million account that is supposed to be in the Department of the Treasury” in Buczek’s name.

“Is there any such account?” asked prosecutor Mary C. Baumgarten.

“No,” Johnson said. “It’s fictitious.”

Johnson said people have tried to use similar schemes throughout the country to avoid legitimately paying their bills. He said some people who advocate the scheme give seminars to show others how to do it.

Buczek told The Buffalo News that bonded promissory notes are legitimate and are linked to secret accounts with the Treasury Department.

“This is real, man. I know people in Florida who have used bonded promissory notes to pay off their whole mortgage,” Buczek said.

While representing himself in the unusual trial, Buczek is being assisted by Brian P. Comerford, a federal public defender who was assigned to the case by Skretny.

Buczek has battled publicly with government agencies before. In December 2005, he and his father, Daniel, were arrested at a Buffalo Sabres game. Buffalo police said the men fought with a security officer who was investigating their attempts to buy beers with privately minted Liberty silver dollars.

The scuffle led to misdemeanor convictions for harassment and criminal impersonation for both Buczeks, but a judge later overturned the convictions because the two men were not advised of the legal hazards of sharing the same lawyer.

In addition to the bank fraud allegations, Shane Buczek faces other federal charges, including passport fraud, which will be dealt with in a later trial, court officials said.

Federal prosecutors “do not have any vendetta” against Buczek and are prosecuting him because of evidence uncovered in an FBI investigation, U. S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter said.