Prisoners try to copyright their escape plan By Tom Leonard in New York Last Updated: 2:56am BST 19/07/2007 Four enterprising prison inmates have been accused of trying to blackmail their way out of jail after they copyrighted their names and then demanded millions of dollars from jail officials for using them without permission. Russell Dean Landers, Clayton Heath Albers, Carl Ervin Batts and Barry Dean Bischof allegedly sent demand notices for payment to the warden of the El Reno federal prison in Oklahoma City and filed claims against his property. They then hired someone to seize his vehicles, freeze his bank accounts and change the locks on his house. Believing the warden's property had been seized, the inmates allegedly said they would not return it unless they were released from prison, according to the indictment. But the person supposedly hired by the four inmates turned out to be an undercover FBI agent, said prosecutors. The four and another man, who allegedly assisted in their scheme, have been charged with conspiring to impede the duties of federal prison officials and with mailing threatening communications with the intent to extort. If convicted, they each face up to 16 more years in prison and a £250,000 fine. They have not yet given a response to the charges. Found the story in a British online newspaper but couldn't find the url to the story. LOL
