Smiley Arrested

Jack Smiley was arrested on a criminal contempt of court charge on Friday, October 24, 2008. (See arrest record below. Click to enlarge.) The criminal contempt arises out of his refusal to produce the Dinars as ordered by the court. You can view the "in custody list" on-line here. Click on the Daily Inmate List link.

A hearing on contempt is set for Wednesday, October 29, 2008. At the hearing, Mr. Smiley will answer to the charge of contempt of court. He will either admit it, or deny it. If he denies, the charge will be set for trial. If contempt is proven, the judge can levy various fines and penalties, including additional jail time.

The hearing on Wednesday, October 29 may result in Mr. Smiley being released, or he could continue to be incarcerated. If Mr. Smiley appears and tells the court where he has placed the Dinars, and if he denies the contempt, Mr. Smiley could be released. Various different scenarios can play out, depending on what Mr. Smiley does and how the judge rules on several interim steps.

The Department is seeking to cause Mr. Smiley to produce the Dinars, and as soon as he does so he can be released from jail. As we say in legal circles, "the keys to the jailhouse are in his pocket." The Department is not seeking jail as a punishment for refusal, and is not likely to ask for a penalty of additional jail time.

Dinar location

On Monday, 6 October, 2008, the Kootenai County Sheriff, accompanied by Idaho Department of Finance Investigators, served a Writ of Attachment on Mr. Smiley. The Deputies searched Mr. Smiley's residence and his automobile, but did not find any Dinars. They questioned Mr. Smiley, but he refused to turn over the Dinars and refused to say where they are stored. The State is continuing its efforts to locate the Dinars.

The Order issued by Judge Mitchell appointed the Department as receiver, and orders that any person holding the Dinars turn them over to the Department. Any person who holds the Dinars and assists Mr.Smiley in preventing the Department from taking possession is in violation of the Order. The Department intends to seek an Order of Contempt against any such persons, and will ask for monetary penalties, and may also ask that the person be incarcerated as an additional penalty.

If you have possession or control of any of the Dinars, or have any information as to their whereabouts, contact the Department immediately.

NOTE: The judgment provides that any investor choosing to take possesion of his or her share of the Dinars will be allowed to do so. An investor may choose to receive Dinars instead of participating in restitution.

Post-judgment

Judgment was entered against Jack Smiley on September 23, 2008. The judgment ordered that Smiley make restitution in the amount of $1,195,009, it imposed penalties in the amount of $140,000, and it appointed the Idaho Department of Finance as receiver. You can read the judgment here.

As of this post, Mr. Smiley has not surrendered the Dinars as he was ordered to by the Court, but the Department will continue to try to recover the Dinars.

Having obtained judgment through a motion for summary judgment, the case is no longer set for trial. The summary judgment took the place of the trial. The judge ruled, in essence, that Defendant Smiley could produce no facts that would indicate he could win at trial. The judge looked at the facts produced by the Department and decided that the Department had proved its case, and entered judgment accordingly.

The Department will now shift its focus to collecting restitution.