Foreclosure Ordered On Greenup’s Ranch

A state judge has ordered the 51-acre ranch of militia leader Cal Greenup sold at auction because Greenup has quit making payments on his mortgage.

District Judge Jeff Langton issued a foreclosure order last Thursday, ordering Ravalli County Sheriff Jay Printz to sell Greenup’s ranch and turn the proceeds over to Farmers State Bank in Victor.

The judgment said Greenup owes $87,689.95, plus interest, insurance and lawsuit costs.

Printz said he hasn’t scheduled a sale yet.

Greenup, a leader of the Montana contingent of the North American Volunteer Militia, fled his ranch April 13 when local and state officials attempted to serve a warrant on him for harboring a fugitive. Wildlife officials seized his elk herd during that raid, saying Greenup had failed to obtain a game-farm license.

Printz said Greenup hasn’t turned up since.

According to court documents, Greenup and his wife, Lynda, took out an $80,150 mortgage from Farmers State Bank on Dec. 7, 1990, but fell behind in their payments and owed property taxes.

In September 1994, the records say, the bank noted the couple had fallen behind and instituted an accelerated payment schedule. The Greenups failed to pay, the lawsuit said.

In his response, Greenup argued that the bank “tricked us into putting our lives and our property into debt for no lawful consideration” because the money loaned was “created on our signature and out of thin air, and become an asset to the (bank) at no cost and/or risk to (the bank) whatsoever.”