DEMAND LETTER TO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR PAYMENT
From: Jerroll Sanders
To: President Joseph R. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland

Date: August 25, 2024
Amount Due: $53,871,359,196,129

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AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT

This demand letter serves as official notice to you in your capacity as fiduciaries of the United States Government. The U.S. Government currently has an outstanding restitution debt with descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves in the amount of $53,871,359,196,129 (Fifty-three trillion, eight hundred seventy-one billion, three hundred fifty-nine million, one hundred ninety-six thousand, one hundred twenty-nine dollars).

The outstanding debt arises from the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) longstanding refusal to compensate non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves for labor and other benefits they provided without compensation. The contributions chattel slaves provided led to the rapid growth of the U.S. economy and America’s lingering wealth (unjust enrichment). As a result, restitution is owed.

To resolve this matter, we request that the U.S. Government render a lump-sum payment of One billion, seventy-seven million, four hundred twenty-seven thousand, one hundred eighty-three dollars) from the U.S. Department of Justice Judgment Fund to each party who can establish, with reasonable certainty, that he/she is a descendant of a non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slave. Acceptable methods for establishing lineage may include:

• • Official records

• • DNA linkages

• • Other methods deemed acceptable

The agreement forged from this demand letter shall constitute an irrevocable contract between descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves and the United States Government. The contract shall remain in full force and effect until all debts submitted by the deadline date of October 1, 2044, have been satisfied. Payments shall commence on November 1, 2024, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the contract between descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves and the U.S. Government.

Extinguishing this longstanding debt will acknowledge America’s culpability and leading role in perpetuating the institution of U.S. chattel slavery—one of the most predatory and abusive criminal structures ever conceived and endorsed by the U.S. Government for financial gain. Resolving this debt through a compromise settlement would align with the U.S. Department of Justice’s practice of paying restitution to those harmed by the government. This includes Japanese Americans interned during World War II, individuals injured or killed on 9/11, Native Americans impacted by disputes over the mismanagement of trust funds and lands, harms caused by government personnel acting within the scope of their employment, and instances where the government has admitted liability.

Please contact me so that I, along with the attorneys representing the remaining descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves, can meet with your representatives to draft a contract for payment of restitution via the DOJ Judgment Fund.

ARGUMENT

U.S. GOVERNMENT’S KEY ROLE IN PERPETUATING CHATTEL SLAVERY

1. 1. On July 4, 1776, the United States officially declared its independence when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence authored by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson (the main drafter), Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman—together known as the “Committee of Five.”

1. 1. The Declaration of Independence asserts that certain rights are unalienable (inalienable), meaning they are God-given rights that no man can grant or take away, even with consent.

1. 1. The United States Constitution was drafted during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by 55 delegates who participated in the Constitutional Convention. They included Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, as well as James Madison—the person who significantly drafted the Constitution’s final text.

1. 1. The United States Constitution was signed by 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787—in the midst of slavery. It was ratified by 13 states in 1789.

1. 1. Man has long (for centuries) recognized the existence of inalienable/unalienable rights, which are “certain universal rights that cannot be taken away by legislation, as they are beyond the control of a government, being naturally given to every individual at birth, and are retained throughout life.”

1. 1. The existence of inalienable rights in U.S. Law was first recognized in the Declaration of Independence, which states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

1. 1. The existence of inalienable rights in U.S. Law was first enumerated in U.S. Law when the Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1791. The Bill of Rights includes the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which were adopted as a unit. The amendments define human rights and guarantees and impose limitations on both federal and state governments.

1. 1. After the Bill of Rights was adopted, leaders of this Nation continued to foster and enable the enslavement of men and women of the Negro race by adopting constitutional provisions and rendering judicial rulings that advanced and maintained slavery in the United States as evidenced by:

1. 1. The Three-Fifths Compromise—a constitutional provision that allowed states to count three-fifths of their enslaved population for purposes of representation and taxation.

1. 1. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which reinforced the Fugitive Slave Clause by establishing legal mechanisms for the recapture and return of enslaved people who escaped.

1. 1. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which imposed harsh penalties on anyone who helped enslaved people escape and required citizens to assist with the recapture of people who fled slavery.

1. 1. The Missouri Compromise of 1820, which admitted into the Union, Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to ensure that free states and slave states had equal representation in Congress.

1. 1. The U.S. Supreme Court Dred Scott decision, in which Chief Justice Roger B. Taney declared, “The Negro has no rights the White man is bound to respect.”

1. 1. The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which affirmed that Congress long had authority to render involuntary servitude unconstitutional.

The U. S. Government evidenced both mens rea (guilty mind) and actus reus (guilty act) when it cemented the institution of slavery and its powerful economic engine firmly in place.

U.S. GOVERNMENT OPERATED A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE KNOWN AS SLAVERY

The system of slavery operated as a criminal enterprise orchestrated by the U.S. Government. The participants within such an enterprise act within a defined (ascertainable) structure to commit unlawful acts for financial gain. Their actions amount to far more than a mere pattern of criminal activity since the structure of the enterprise is designed to ensure continuity of existence and a criminal purpose that is beyond the scope of individual criminal acts. Countless books, U.S. documents, and federal institutions, including the African American History Museum in Washington, D.C., attest to the barbaric existence the U.S. Government imposed upon non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves for financial gain. Offenses included:

• • Forced labor

• • Human bondage (Internment)

• • Lifetime incarceration

• • Parental/child separation

• • Forced marital separation

• • Theft of intellectual property

• • Child and human trafficking

• • Child molestation

• • Rape

• • Sex trafficking

• • Human breeding

• • Emotional duress and abuse

• • Physical abuse

• • Mutilation and dismemberment

• • Murder

• • Denied personal agency

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SLAVERY PROVIDED UNJUST ENRICHMENT FOR THE ENTIRE U.S. ECONOMY

From 1619 to 1865, the U.S. Government and its officials engaged in conduct they knew or should have known violated the laws of God, and they did so for economic gain. The financial gain the United States economy reaped from chattel slavery amounts to unjust enrichment, which is a legal remedy that applies when one party benefits unfairly at the expense of another, without a valid legal reason or justification for the benefit. U.S. chattel slavery fueled the entire U.S. economy for centuries and helped America become the most prosperous nation in the world—a position it continues to occupy today. The entire U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 1619 to 1865 was culled on the backs of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the market value of all the goods and services produced by labor and property supplied by citizens of a country within a period of time, usually a year.

Thus, pursuant to the legal concept of restitution and the principle of fairness, descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves are entitled to restitution equal to: 1) total U.S. GDP from 1619 to 1865 for chattel slavery; 2) residual GDP, which includes total U.S. GDP from 1866 to 1937—the year U.S. cotton ceased to be king of the worldwide economy; and 3) a share of GDP earned each year from 1938 to 2024.(Annual GDP for 2024 will be determined when 2024 concludes.)

UNDISPUTED FACTS

When determining the value of restitution required, the following facts govern:

1. 1. Slavery fueled the growth of America’s agrarian-based economy in ways that are impossible to measure.

1. 1. All economic activities that occurred within the U.S from 1619 to 1865, including in non-slave states, must be deemed benefits (proceeds) from the criminal enterprise of U.S. chattel slavery pursuant to the legal concept of fruits from a poisoned tree.

1. 1. U.S. Government will continue to benefit from the contributions of U.S. chattel slaves into perpetuity.

1. 1. Restitution is not a political remedy. It is a civil remedy rooted in law.

RESTITUTION IS THE COMPANION LEGAL CONCEPT TO UNJUST ENRICHMENT.

In criminal law, restitution compensates a victim for injury or loss resulting from a criminal act. In civil matters, restitution serves as a remedy for unjust enrichment and should equal the value of the benefit conferred. To establish a claim for restitution for unjust enrichment, a claimant must establish: 1) the claimant provided a benefit to the defendant; 2) the benefit was conferred at the claimant’s expense; and 3) it would be unjust for the defendant to retain the benefit without compensating the claimant. Claimants who are descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves can establish:

1. 1. The U.S. Government derived incalculable economic benefits from non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves,

1. 1. Non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves were denied God-given rights by the U.S. Government in pursuit of financial gains.

1. 1. The legal principle of basic fairness requires restitution as a means of restoring the relevant benefit to claimants (non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves).

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS AND RIGHT TO SUE THE SOVEREIGN

Quasi-Contract as a Path to Restitution Claims for Unjust Enrichment

The United States Government is considered sovereign and must therefore consent to be sued. This consent is provided through statutes that outline the grounds on which a private party may bring a claim against the federal government. One such statute is the Tucker Act (28 U.S.C. § 1491), which permits claims against the U.S. government for unjust enrichment due to the existence of a quasi-contract.

A quasi-contract—also known as an implied-in-law contract—is a legal construct used to enforce fairness in situations where no actual contract exists between the parties. It is a mechanism for addressing unjust enrichment. By recognizing the existence of a quasi-contract, a court can compel a party who was unjustly enriched to compensate the party who provided the benefit.

Ongoing Wrongful Conduct

Descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves contend that the U.S. Government created a quasi-contract by establishing and maintaining the U.S. chattel slavery criminal enterprise for monetary gain. Under quasi-contract principles, the U.S. Government must compensate the descendants of U.S. chattel slaves for the benefits their ancestors provided from 1619 to 2024 and beyond.

Restitution Arising from Criminal Violations by the U.S. Government

Under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA) (18 U.S.C. § 3771), descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves have a valid legal claim for restitution from the U.S. Government in 2024 for criminal wrongs (10 U.S. Code § 843—Art. 43). There is no statute of limitations on many crimes committed by the U.S. criminal enterprise during U.S. chattel slavery. Therefore, there is no statute of limitations on restitution claims arising from these crimes. (As discussed later, the Ex Post Facto Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not prevent restitution claims under the CVRA, even if the crimes occurred before the CVRA’s enactment).

RESTITUTION VIA EXECUTIVE ACTION

Restitution is a core tenet of U.S. Law. Evidence and documentation reveal that because of the laws and policies of the U.S. Government, the Negro slave was procured through financial transactions, bred like an animal, and denied inalienable rights as a means of fueling the economic growth of the U.S. economy. The time has come for Attorney General Merrick Garland, President Joseph Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris to enter into a compromise settlement and render restitution via the U.S. Department of Justice Judgment Fund to compensate descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves for the enslavement of their ancestors.

GDP CALCULATION

GDP is a measure of the size of a nation’s economy, its economic health, and the economy’s growth rate in terms of value. When this Nation’s leaders endorsed chattel slavery via laws and practices, they should have known that descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves would one day demand restitution for the wealth their enslavement generated for the U.S. Government.

GDP Calculated in Reverse

The U.S. Government did not begin calculating GDP until 1936. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate GDP in reverse from 2023 to 1619. The reverse GDP calculation involves reducing GDP from 2023[1] by an average of 3% annually, based on the projected annual growth rate of 3% ([Attachment I]). The goal is to obtain three totals:

• • Sum of GDP for years 1619–1865 (economic benefits chattel slavery provided to the U.S. economy).

• • Sum of GDP for years 1866–1937 (residual economic benefits derived from U.S. chattel slavery).

• • Sum of GDP for years 1938–2024 (additional residual unjust enrichment from U.S. chattel slavery).

 

CONSIDERATIONS WHEN DETERMINING DESCENDANT ELIGIBILITY

Spoliation of Evidence

Spoliation of evidence occurs when evidence relevant to a civil action is intentionally or negligently destroyed or altered by a defendant. U.S. descendants of chattel slaves are submitting this demand letter in pursuit of restitution—a civil remedy. Because the U.S. Government failed to ensure accurate records identifying the ancestral linkages of U.S. non-Hispanic chattel slaves, restitution shall be paid to any person who can reasonably establish that he or she is a descendant of a non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slave.

Ex post Facto Not a Bar to Civil Restitution

Ex post facto does not operate to prevent descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves from garnering civil restitution for acts performed prior to the U.S. Government’s formation. The Nation’s founders endorsed and aided in the perpetuation of U.S. chattel slavery until the day it ended in 1865. While ex post facto shields perpetrators from being held criminally liable for prior criminal acts that, at the time, were deemed innocent, ex post facto does not preclude victims of such crimes from pursuing restitution for those acts, since “Restitution is typically determined by civil proceedings, not criminal statutes.”

Pro rata Restitution due descendants of NON-HISPANIC U.S. chattel slaves

Calculation	Value
Restitution due slaves pursuant to unjust enrichment (1619 to 1865) resulting from an implied-in-fact contract. Based on GDP of 3% per annum. (See attached.)	$5,179,123,428,131
Residual restitution due slaves pursuant to unjust enrichment (1866 to 1937) resulting from an implied-in-fact contract. Based on GDP of 3% per annum. (See attached.).	$48,692,235,767,997
Share of residual restitution due the enslaved pursuant to unjust enrichment (1938 to 2023). The percentage of total GDP considered residual unjust enrichment ($800,251,439,638,378 [(Eight hundred trillion, two hundred fifty-one billion, four hundred thirty-nine million, six hundred thirty-eight thousand, three hundred seventy-eight dollars] will be determined during negotiations.) For further information, see How Slavery Became America’s First Big Business by P.R. Lockhart.	$1
Physical and emotional pain and suffering. Not allowed per Justice.gov—Criminal Division.	$0
Interest on unpaid restitution. Not allowed per Justice.gov—Criminal Division.	$0
Total restitution due U.S. descendants of chattel slaves pursuant to unjust enrichment (Fifty-three trillion, eight hundred seventy-one billion, three hundred fifty-nine million, one hundred ninety-six thousand, one hundred twenty-nine dollars).	$53,871,359,196,129
Total restitution due descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves ($53,871,359,196,129) ÷ number of living descendants from U.S. chattel slaves [50,000,00]  =  pro rata restitution amount due each descendant of a non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slave) = One billion, seventy-seven million, four hundred twenty-seven thousand, one hundred eighty-three dollars).	$1,077,427,183.92

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TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE

Some may view the aforementioned restitution amount due U.S. chattel slaves as too much, while others may view the amount as too little. The U.S. Government oversaw a criminal enterprise known as U.S. chattel slavery that lasted for over two centuries and enslaved more than fifty million humans. The U.S. Government failed to consider the long-term cost of its actions. Non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves had extensive skills (Attachment II) and the potential to excel to all economic strata. There would be no need to conjecture about the financial implications of U.S. chattel slavery if the U.S. Government had allowed the people it enslaved to live on their own terms.

USE OF UNDISTRIBUTED FUNDS

One month before the restitution period expires for claimants, the U.S. Government shall provide a report identifying claimants paid and the amount not yet distributed from the agreed-upon restitution amount. The balance remaining shall be deposited into an infrastructure fund and endowment fund. The endowment fund must exist in perpetuity, and only the interest from the fund can be used by fund fiduciaries to advance repair initiatives in the sole interest of descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves. Each descendant who receives restitution shall contribute a predetermined amount to the endowment fund and Infrastructure fund. Fund fiduciaries must establish and publish budget guidelines and spending authorization limits on all items and services to be procured by its organization. Annually, fund fiduciaries must provide a report detailing all items purchased and expended. Fiduciaries shall make reports available online. Fiduciaries shall also make available a public forum for challenging expenditures and recommending uses of funds.

Respectfully submitted,

Jerroll M. Sanders

Descendant of a non-Hispanic U.S. Chattel Slave

ABOUT THE CREATOR OF THIS DEMAND LETTER—JERROLL M. SANDERS

Non-attorney Jerroll Sanders is a businessperson, strategist, and advocate. She has authored a groundbreaking national legislative policing proposal titled the Equality in Policing Act, formally known as the Uniform Reporting Law Enforcement Improvement Act (URLEIA), available for review at changeisonus.org. Sanders also drafted a constitutional case of first impression aimed at unseating a sitting president whose election was aided by foreign hackers. You can review the case at revote.com. To learn more about the author of this document, visit JerrollSanders.com and watch My Empty Chair: The Jerroll Sanders Story on YouTube. Connect with Jerroll on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), and other social media platforms.

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[1][1] Descendants of non-Hispanic U.S. chattel slaves are entitled to a share of the GDP accrued in the year 2024. The annual GDP for 2024 is not currently available.