Author · Educator · Entrepreneur · Advocate
Between 2004 and 2009, Rick Koerber built a national platform — a syndicated radio program, a university, four published books — reaching over a million listeners. Since 2019, he has been serving a 170-month federal prison sentence stemming from a prosecution two independent judges have described as unlike any other in their careers.
The full court record tells a different story.
In 2014, Federal Judge Clark Waddoups dismissed the indictment with prejudice after finding that prosecutors had violated Rick Koerber's constitutional rights "to secure an indictment in the first instance" and engaged in "a pattern of widespread and continuous misconduct."
Between 2004 and 2009, Rick Koerber built a distinctive framework connecting entrepreneurship, constitutional economics, and personal stewardship. It attracted tens of thousands of students through the Free Capitalist Project, American Founders University, four published books, live seminars nationwide, and a syndicated daily radio program — among the first of its kind distributed through iTunes as early as 2005 — reaching over a million listeners at its peak.
In 2009 federal prosecutors indicted him. Court records would later document that the government had violated his constitutional rights to secure that indictment — a finding made by an independent federal judge who described the prosecution's history as "sordid" and dismissed the case with prejudice. The government appealed, reinstated the case, and tried him twice. The first trial ended in a hung jury with zero convictions. In the second, the sentencing judge called the case "unlike any other" in his career and said no one would bet their bottom dollar the conviction would survive appellate review. Rick chose throughout to contest the case through the legal system rather than through the press. That choice has kept him largely out of public view for more than a decade.
During those years, drawing on the hard lessons of his own case and close collaboration with experienced trial attorneys, he began working as a litigation paralegal and legal strategist. He contributed to more than one hundred federal and state cases nationwide. Several of those cases produced significant victories, including acquittals and dismissals on constitutional grounds. He also helped his wife Jewel found the Defendant Aid Society, a nonprofit that has assisted families across the United States and hundreds of incarcerated federal inmates who have faced unjust charges, wrongful prosecution, or mistreatment by federal authorities.
Rick remains incarcerated and continues to write. Jewel has expanded the Defendant Aid Society and helped develop educational programs built on the same principles they taught for more than two decades. The work continues.
"Without economic liberty, a people cannot maintain political or religious liberty."
— Rick Koerber, Free Capitalist Radio
Free Rick Koerber · Oct 2019
Rick's conviction dominates the public record about him. Federal court documents tell a more complete story. After five years the case was dismissed with prejudice for government misconduct. Following a government appeal and reinstatement, the first trial ended in a hung jury with zero convictions. In the second trial, a key witness gave testimony directly contradicted by bank records, wire transfers, and investment documents. Two days after that testimony, the lead prosecutor admitted his witness had "gone rogue" and promised a corrective stipulation to the jury. He never delivered it. These and other constitutional challenges remain the subject of active post-conviction litigation in federal court.
A 2007 recording played in federal court captured state officials threatening Koerber: stop criticizing us, or face fraud accusations. He didn't stop. The accusations followed within weeks. The Utah AG later found no evidence and closed the case.
Federal Judge Clark Waddoups found a "pattern of widespread and continuous misconduct" — including illegal ex parte interviews, use of privileged communications, and systematic Speedy Trial Act violations. He called the prosecution's history "sordid" and found the government had violated the Constitution to secure the original indictment. He dismissed the case with prejudice in 2014.
Two days after the government's key witness testified that he gave money directly to Rick Koerber, the lead prosecutor privately admitted the testimony was false. He called the witness "awful" and said he had "gone rogue." The prosecutor promised defense counsel a corrective stipulation to the jury by the next day. He never delivered it. That testimony was a material difference between a hung jury in the first trial and a conviction in the second.
Rick is currently litigating a post-conviction petition raising new constitutional claims — including a 2025 Supreme Court ruling the district court ignored — written entirely by himself, pro se, from prison.
The complete legal record — with primary source documents, court orders, and factual timeline — is documented in full.
Read the Legal RecordDispatches from the Long Night
For seven years Rick Koerber remained almost completely silent publicly — contesting his case in court rather than in the press. With the legal record now fully before the federal courts, that changes. Writing from the Federal Prison Camp in Florence, Colorado, he is speaking publicly for the first time. These dispatches — essays, legal observations, and philosophical reflections — will be updated as new letters arrive.
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2004 — 2008
Nationally syndicated radio host. Author. Seminar speaker. Entrepreneur. University founder. Building something substantial.
NOW
Serving a federal sentence he is actively contesting. Still writing. Still thinking. Still fighting. Surrounded by a family that never stopped building either.
Rick is still fighting. If you studied under him, worked with him, invested alongside him, or know the real story of what happened — your voice matters now more than ever. Written statements, video testimony, and documented accounts are being gathered for this site and for ongoing legal proceedings. If you were there, we want to hear from you. Include any text, photos, or documents that tell your story.
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