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Inmate Files Federal Complaint Against NASCAR Star Jeff Gordon

The complaint, filed Sept. 12 in the United States District Court Western District Of North Carolina, asserts that Jeff Gordon is, "Recklessly Drivin' My Life Crazy." The accuser is 30-year-old, Jonathan Lee Riches, a federal inmate serving time for fraud in South Carolina. The handwritten, 3-page complaint goes on to accuse Gordon of a litany of other crimes--from poisoning fans with chemical weapons, to wrecking other drivers by dropping Tic Tacs and oil on the track through a secret trap door under his race car. This is not the first time Riches has filed a complaint against a famous person.

In fact, Riches has filed dozens of complaints against hundreds of companies, organizations and individuals--living and dead. Online free encyclopedia site, Wikipedia, is filled with entries about Riches and his lawsuits. Elvis Presley, George Bush, the CIA, Larry King, Mike Vick, Neverland Ranch, Wal-Mart, Don Imus and even an interstate bridge have all been targets of the man who identifies himself as the "Litigator Crusader." Most of the complaints read like crazy, conspiracy theory riddles. In one complaint, he claims that Barry Bonds cracked the Liberty Bell with Hank Aaron's Bat.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prison's Web site, Riches' projected release date is March of 2012. A watchdog group said the crimes that landed him in jail in the first place were mainly related to identity theft and fraud. While in jail, he has issued a seemingly continuous stream of rambling complaints to U.S. District Courts around the nation.

His latest names Jeff Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports as co-defendants. In it he issues no fewer that 13 individual complaints against them. In one section Riches states, "Gordon tied me to his bumper during the Talladega race." Elsewhere he complains, "Karl Rove left the White House to work as Gordon's tire changer." He also warns that, "Gordon told me [he has] secret plans to put wings on the #24 car and fly it into Ft. Knox."

Obviously, none of these complaints are something the federal government plans to investigate--yet all the complaints issued by Riches still have to be processed, filed and dismissed. A journey which is fueled by taxpayer money. So how is a convicted federal inmate able to keep filing all of these frivolous complaints and wasting time, money and manpower in an already swamped legal system? Simply put, anyone is allowed to do it. For a more specific answer we interviewed a prominent Charlotte attorney. His video explanation is located on the sidebar of this page. Also there, we've put together several slides which contain actual excerpts from the Jeff Gordon complaint.

Reading any of Riches' federal complaints really does beg the question, "Is this guy crazy or does he enjoy wasting time and taxpayer money while he's sitting in jail?" There is one line though that is telling of a man's mental condition, "Plaintiff seeks 22,000,000,000.00 Billion dollars..." That's just greedy, not crazy.

So what does Jeff Gordon think about this? Chances are he hasn't heard a word about it. The courts will most likely dismiss the case immediately and he won't even get a note from them saying what happened. I did contact a spokesman for Hedrick Motorsports today. He told me in an e-mail, "We appreciate the opportunity to respond. Because we were not aware of the issue and do not know the details, we respectfully decline comment."

Sources: Federal Bureau Of Prisons, United States District Court Western District Of North Carolina, Wikipedia.com, Getty Images, Hendrick Motorsports, James Wyatt III, Attorney at Law

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2009 Sprint Cup Schedule

Date Race Venue/Winner
02/15/09 Daytona 500
02/22/09 Auto Club 500 - California
03/01/09 Shelby 427 – Las Vegas
03/08/09 Kobalt Tools 500 - Atlanta
03/22/09 Food City 500 - Bristol
03/29/09 Goody's Fast Relief 500 - Martinsville
04/05/09 Samsung 500 - Texas
04/18/09 Subway Fresh Fit 500 - Phoenix
04/26/09 Aaron's 499 - Talladega
05/02/09 Crown Royal Presents the Your Name Here 400 - Richmond
05/09/09 Southern 500 - Darlington
05/16/09 Sprint All-Star Race – Concord
05/24/09 Coca-Cola 500 - Charlotte
05/31/09 Dover 400 - Dover
06/07/09 Pocono 500
06/14/09 LifeLock 400 - Michigan
06/21/09 Toyota/SaveMart 350 - Infineon
06/28/09 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 – New Hampshire
07/04/09 Coke Zero 400 - Daytona
07/11/09 LifeLock.com 400 - Chicagoland
07/26/09 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard - Indianapolis
08/02/09 Pennsylvania 500 - Pocono
08/09/09 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the Glen
08/16/09 Michigan 400
08/22/09 Sharpie 500 - Bristol
09/06/09 Pep Boys Auto 500 - Atlanta
09/12/09 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 - Richmond
09/20/09 Sylvania 300 – New Hampshire
09/27/09 Dover 400
10/04/09 Kansas 400
10/11/09 Pepsi 500 - Fontana
10/17/09 Bank of America 500 - Charlotte
10/25/09 Tums Fast Relief 500 - Martinsville
11/01/09 Amp Energy 500 - Talladega
11/08/09 Dickies 500 - Texas
11/15/09 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil – Phoenix
11/22/09 Ford 400 - Miami