A | BILLINGS, Mont. -- A Montana man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for making repeated threatening and racist phone calls to a Billings church for two years after he went there seeking help and received a gift card from a Black employee, prosecutors said.Joshua Leon Hiestand, 41, was sentenced Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana. Hiestand pleaded guilty in June to making harassing telephone calls. A stalking charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.“When Hiestand, a white man, went to a Billings church looking for help, an elderly African American woman who worked there responded with kindness and assistance," U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said in a statement. "In return and for nearly two years, Hiestand launched a barrage of harassing, hateful and racist calls and voicemails at her and the church. His racist conduct isn't just abhorrent, it is illegal.”Prosecutors alleged Hiestand went to the Presbyterian church in November 2020 seeking help. Five days later, the church received a voicemail in which someone, using a racially derogatory term, said he would give more money to the church if the church did not employ an African American. After three similar calls, the woman called Billings police.A detective called the number used to leave the messages and spoke to Hiestand, who admitted making the calls and apologized for his behavior, prosecutors said. He was told to have no further contact with the church. Three days later, he left a voicemail with the church in which he apologized, court records said.However, over the next 19 months Hiestand called and left a series of voicemails at the church that were at times threatening and racially hostile, prosecutors said. Investigators determined that after January 2021, Hiestand was placing the calls from outside the state of Montana.Hiestand was arrested in November 2022 in Indiana and has remained in custody since then.Hiestand’s public defender Gillian Gosch asked for a sentence of time served, arguing her client's actions were affected by his mental health issues, which have resulted in psychiatric hospitalizations and which appear to be worsened by his use of illegal substances.The Bureau of Prisons will decide whether Hiestand will receive credit for the 11 months he has already been in custody, officials said.Hiestand remained in custody in the Yellowstone County jail on Monday.。 本文来自微信公众号：财联社 （ID：cailianpress），作者：潇湘 20世纪60年代初，“股神”巴菲特曾做出过购买白银的精明举动，因为他当时认为美国已不再具备铸造银币的经济可行性。 当时，10美分、25美分和50美分硬币的含银量高达90%，这些硬币的金属价值(或熔化价值)接近其面值。事实证明，巴菲特是对的，因为随着银价上涨，美国政府最终于1965年停止发行了含银量高达90%的硬币。 而如今，一位“巴菲特的模仿者”声称，他正在对有着“镍币”之称的5美分硬币做同样的事情…… 押宝镍与铜？ 是的，就在本月早些时候黄金和白银价格双双创下历史新高之际，现年35岁的金融从业者凯尔·米切尔(Kyle Mitchell)却并未完全“迷信”这两种贵金属，反而把目光放到了工业用途更为广泛的几类基本金属上——而且，他还采取了一条更是独特的途径来实现“保值”目标：囤积硬币。
B | 据米切尔介绍，他目前已经囤积了价值25万美元的美国铸币局铸造的五美分镍币——作为“通胀对冲工具”。他透露，目前他将所有这些硬币都存放在美国某处他150英亩农场的一个独立车库里。由于安全考虑，他拒绝透露具体位置。
C | 他在本周于X上“火出圈”的一条推文中分享道，这些硬币总共有500万枚，重量接近30吨。
D | 目前，该推文的浏览量已经达到1480万，并且这个数字还在不断增加。 根据美国铸币局的说法，现代美国5美分硬币由铜和镍两类金属制成，其成分是75%的铜和25%的镍。一枚5美分硬币重量恰好为5克，这意味着每枚硬币含有约3.75克铜和1.25克镍。 根据美国铸币局的年度报告，2024财年，美国铸币局制造一枚5美分硬币的成本为14美分——这一数字包含了金属原本的价值和包括人工在内其他生产成本。其中，一枚硬币的金属价值约为6美分——本身也已超过了硬币的面值。这意味着米切尔价值25万美元的5美分硬币，其金属价值(铜和镍)已达到了29万美元。 目前，铜的交易价格约为每公吨1万美元，镍的交易价格约为每吨1.5万美元。今年以来，铜价已累计上涨了约23%，而镍价则基本保持不变。 米切尔的“大计划” 据米切尔介绍，其囤积这些5美分硬币的过程缓慢——花费了他和一个助手团队四个多月的时间。
E | 他表示，为了在这段时间内获得如此大量的硬币，他支付了每小时7.5美元的报酬，雇人前往多家银行将美元纸币兑换成五美分硬币。
F | “必须跑遍多家银行才能完成，”米切尔在接受采访时称，“虽然银行对个人兑换硬币数量没有明确限制，但多数银行库存有限——而且部分银行可能会限制大额硬币兑换，仅限账户持有人或收取额外手续费。” 那么，米切尔究竟为何要花费大功夫囤积数百万5美分硬币呢？ “这是对冲通胀的手段，”自称长期质疑法定货币价值的米切尔解释道。鉴于一枚实体5美分硬币熔化后的价值高于其面值，他认为这是相当稳妥的投资。
G | “即便判断失误，硬币价值也永远是0.05美元，完全没有下行风险。” 正如米切尔在X平台所言：“这是一场不对称的赌注——押注美国铸币局终将再次贬值货币，押注金属稀缺与通胀会持续侵蚀美元价值，押注终有一日一袋五美分硬币的‘熔毁’价值将超越流通价值。” 当然，这最终需要有人去熔毁这些硬币——而根据美国现行法规，这样做是非法的。美国法律规定“任何人不得出口、熔毁或处理任何5美分硬币”，熔毁分币也是非法的，此类违规行为可能导致1万美元罚款和/或最高五年的监禁。 但米切尔似乎并不在意这些。米切尔指出，即便最坏情况下，他持有的25万美元5美分硬币仍将至少保持25万美元价值，且未来存在增值空间——例如当金属资源日益稀缺，或政府通过降低硬币实际镍含量进一步贬值五美分硬币时。 诚然，25万美元的名义价值确实会随时间推移保持不变，但有人仍可能质疑：这笔资金本可用于更高效的投资渠道——更不用说通货膨胀将导致其购买力持续缩水。 但米切尔对囤积的镍币仍持乐观态度。
H | “最优质的投资永远是零风险且收益巨大，”他表示，“我期待美国最终停用镍币，届时这些收藏品可按三到五倍价格转售，让我轻松赚个百万美元。
I | ” 截至2025年，尚未有政府机构或知名政客推动5美分硬币予以废除。不过关于停用1美分硬币的讨论已有所浮现，因此可以推测5美分硬币的命运也可能在未来受到质疑。 在谈及1美分硬币时，米切尔还表示，自己曾收藏了2万磅1982年前铸造的铜质1美分硬币（含铜量超过90%）。这些巨量硬币与他的5美分硬币一同存放在同一个车库里。
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