Inmate guilty of trying to scam prison officials sentenced

BENTON, Ill. (AP) - An inmate at the Marion Federal Penitentiary in southern Illinois will serve an additional 18 years in prison for filing fake bankruptcy petitions against prison officials.

Federal prosecutors say Kurt F. Johnson filed involuntary bankruptcy petitions alleging Marion's warden and another prison official owed the 56-year-old inmate $20 billion for a judgment the inmate claimed he obtained from the International Court of Justice.

As part of the scheme, Johnson canceled $1 billion of the supposed debt as unreported income for the warden and the officer.

During his trial last year, prosecutors alleged Johnson has a history of harassing judges, court personnel and Bureau of Prisons employees through fictitious claims. He was found guilty of fraud.

Johnson, who was sentenced Friday, is already serving a 25-year sentence from California for fraud stemming from a nationwide debt elimination scheme prosecutors say raked in over $6 million.