A Derby man who claims America's monetary system is a fraud was convicted of fraud himself

after a jury trial at U.S. District Court.

Shane C. Buczek, 40, who acted as his own attorney and tried to convince jurors that

America's money is worthless, was convicted of bilking HSBC Bank out of $8,900 he spent on a

52-inch flat screen television and other appliances.

Jurors convicted Buczek of felony bank fraud on Friday, and then convicted him today of

committing a crime while he was out on bail from another case.

The U.S. Attorney's office said Buczek faces two more trials before District Judge William

M. Skretny. In April, he is scheduled to face trial on a passport fraud case, and in June, he

faces trial for contempt of a court order.

Trial testimony demonstrated that Buczek tried to pay for $8,900 worth of appliances with a

fictitious document he called a "bonded promissory note," which claimed that Buczek had $100

million in an account maintained by the U.S. Treasury, lead prosecutor Mary C. Baumgarten

said.

Buczek told The Buffalo News after the verdicts that he is sincere in his beliefs that

bonded promissory notes can legally be used to pay bills. He said he was convicted because

Skretny stopped him from presenting conclusive evidence of his monetary theories.

"I'm way beyond innocent ... I'm going to appeal," Buczek said. "The judges have to keep

the truth from coming out. They have to protect the status quo."

Buczek accused the U.S. Attorney's office — and in particular, Anthony M. Bruce, who

prosecuted the case with Baumgarten — of carrying out a vendetta against him.

Government attorneys have no vendetta against Buczek and prosecuted the case because of the

facts turned up in an investigation by FBI agents, U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter said.

Buczek could face a maximum prison term of 30 years for the two felony convictions, but

under advisory federal sentencing guidelines, his prison term is likely to be much shorter

than that, court officials said.

Buczek, who said he works at a property management business owned by his family, said he is

one of "millions of people in this country" who believe that the nation's money is worthless

because it is not backed by gold or silver. The appliances that he purchased for $8,900 were

seized by government agents during a raid at his family's home last year.

He was assisted at trial by Brian P. Comerford, a federal public defender who was assigned

to the case by Skretny.