Jonathan Lee Riches is a convicted fraudster known for the many lawsuits he has filed in various United States district courts.[1] Riches was incarcerated at Federal Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky, for wire fraud under the terms of a plea bargain. His release date was April 30, 2012.[2] He was arrested for violating his federal probation in December 2012, when he left the Eastern District of the state of Pennsylvania without permission. He drove to Connecticut and impersonated the uncle of Adam Lanza, the shooter in the Sandy Hook Elementary School incident.[3]
On April 9, 2008, Riches filed a request for a temporary restraining order in a US District Court against Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two, developer Rockstar Games, FCI Williamsburg, and Grand Theft Auto itself, claiming that the defendants "put me in prison." The inmate stated, "Defendants contributed to Plaintiff committing identity theft. Defendant's games show sex, drugs and violence which offends me." Riches continued, "Defendants put me in prison. I face imminent danger from violent inmates who played Grand Theft Auto who will knock me out and take my gold Jesus cross."[19]
In May 2009, Riches filed for an injunction against the Guinness Book of World Records, seeking to stop them from listing him as "the most litigious individual in history".[21] Guinness spokeswoman Sara Wilcox told The Huffington Post that there was no such listing, and no plan to create one. "'Most litigious man' is not something Guinness World Records has ever monitored as a record category," she said. The action—like the vast majority of Riches's filings—was dismissed.[3]
A number of Riches's lawsuits have been dismissed as being "frivolous, malicious" or for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.[12]Willis Hunt, the U.S. District Court Judge who dismissed Riches's suit against Vick as "farcical," opined that his lawsuits were clearly self-promotional. As per 28 U.S. Code § 1915(g), he is barred from proceeding in forma pauperis.[24]
In July 2018, Riches was indicted by a federal grand jury in Arizona. He is charged with making false statements and other frauds after an attempt to file a lawsuit against Gabby Giffords while posing as Jared Lee Loughner.[25]
A collection of Riches's lawsuits was published on April Fools' Day of 2016.[26]
In November 2018, Riches self-published Nothing is Written in Stone: A Jonathan Lee Riches Companion, which contains a selection of his lawsuits as well as an autobiography.[27] Riches runs a YouTube channel, "JLR Investigates", where he claims to be an investigative reporter.[28]
^US Pacer US Party/Case Index Website maintained by the federal courts; search for Jonathan Riches prisoner cases on March 3, 2008 returned 1017 cases.[original research?]