Ex-Shawano County campground owner accused of filing improper liens as retaliation

BARABOO (WLUK) -- Former campground owner Ann Retzlaff -- already wanted for skipping court in Shawano County -- now faces charges in Sauk County for allegedly filing improper liens against those involved in the foreclosure of the campground in what the criminal complaint calls an act of retaliation.

Retzlaff faces a series of criminal charges related to a May 2021 traffic stop, and additional charges for an April 20 arrest on warrants related to missed court appearances on the first charges. An additional bail jumping charge was filed after allegedly went to Michigan without permission. She has routinely objected to the court's jurisdiction, citing her claims of being a "sovereign citizen." She has been ordered to stand trial but no dates have been set. When she didn't appear in court in January, Marathon County Judge Michael Moran issued a nationwide arrest warrant for her arrest.

Seven charges were filed Friday in Sauk County: five counts of criminal slander of title, and two counts of bail jumping. No court dates have been set, and a Sauk County judge also issued an arrest warrant, court records show.

State law defines the charge of 'criminal slander of title' as:

Any person who submits for filing, entering or recording any lien, claim of lien, lis pendens, writ of attachment, financing statement or any other instrument relating to a security interest in or title to real or personal property, and who knows or should have known that the contents or any part of the contents of the instrument are false, a sham or frivolous, is guilty of a Class H felony.

According to the criminal complaint, Retzlaff filed liens against employees of the bank which foreclosed Annie's Campground in Gresham, an attorney, the receiver who managed the site on an interim basis, and the owner of the company which purchased the campground.

"(A bank attorney) said that he believes that is an attempt to retaliate against him personally for being involved in the foreclosure and property that was eventually put into a receivership to (another victim) and eventually sold the property on behalf of Bank First," the complaint states.

The bank attorney was concerned the lien would show up on his credit reports or in other financial situations, even though he no personal business dealings with Retzlaff. The other victims made similar comments to police.

The criminal charges were filed in Sauk County as police identified Retzlaff on surveillance video at the Reedsburg Library on Nov. 7, where she used library computers to create the liens before going to Reedsburg City Hall to have the liens notarized. Her address is listed as the Sauk County town of La Valle.

Police talked to Retzlaff on Dec. 9 -- before the warrants were issued in Shawano County -- when she admitted to sending the liens.

"Retzlaff explained that she was a victim of predatory loan practices by Bank First. Retzlaff said that that the bank individuals and attorneys involved know they are committing fraud and are in violation after the gold standard was abolished... Ann indicated that she believed that the Bank First had transferred her mortgage into a mortgage backed security without her knowledge and without her consent. (The officer) asked her if she had any personal loans or any type of financial agreement with any of the individuals that she had listed in the UCC lien filing. Retzlaff again alluded that I needed to do my homework and speak with her investigator," the complaint states.

A few weeks later, police again asked Retzlaff to detail why she filed personal liens against the individuals, instead of filing something against the companies involved.

"Again Retzlaff referred me to contact the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Consumer Protection Agency. Retzlaff again stated that she has been aggrieved and transgressed and that UCC liens are lawful. Retzlaff said that no one can sell something that is not theirs and asked me to look up false claim, false title, criminal trespass, and theft of intellectual property. I again informed her that she needed to provide any documentation of the financial connection to individuals and not just the Bank First in general," the complaint states.

The deputy who drafted the complaint said the state will need to take action to remove the items from the records of the five individuals.

"It is clear that Retzlaff is upset with the bank employees, the attorneys involved, and the new owners of the campground for how the foreclosure and receivership had occurred. However, I do believe that based on the correspondence that I had with her that she is aware that she is unable to provide any type of proof that she is a creditor. Retzlaff lists the individuals' personal addresses on those liens and is doing so in the attempt to intimidate and harass the parties involved in the legal process that she is disputing. Although Retzlaff denies being part of the Sovereign Citizen movement it is quite often that these type of UCC loans and interpretation of the UCC is abused by Sovereign Citizens and is known to be frivolous and a way to retaliate against government officials and individuals," the complaint states.

Eventually, Retzlaff stopped communicated with the deputy.

In the original case, police tried to pull Retzlaff over for failure to stop at a traffic light on May 15, 2021, but she did not pull over, the complaint states. Eventually, traffic stop spikes were deployed, flattening her tires, and the vehicle stopped. An officer advised her to get out of the vehicle.

"She stated she did not do anything wrong, and she was being wrongfully stopped. She stated she is a sovereign citizen and will not step out of the vehicle," the complaint states.

A deputy tried to pry a vehicle door open when Retzlaff put the vehicle in gear to drive away. Two deputies had to move out of the way to avoid being hit by the vehicle, it states.

The vehicle was stopped a second time. A deputy "broke the driver window with his baton. The door was then opened, and Ann was taken from the vehicle and escorted to the ground. She was secured in handcuffs," the complaint states.

Retzlaff told police she was rescuing an employee from sex traffickers, which is why she didn't stop for police, and maintained she didn't do anything wrong.

When she was arrested on warrants for not showing up in court on the original case, she allegedly was confrontational with officers, prompting additional charges.

Two more bail jumping charges were added in December, after Retzlaff allegedly left the state without permission.

Retzlaff was the owner of Annie's Campground in Gresham, but it was sold at auctionto satisfy mortgage and tax debts.