On July 28, 2009, von NotHaus entered a plea of not guilty. On March 18, 2011, von NotHaus was convicted of "making, possessing and selling his own coins", after a jury in Statesville, North Carolina deliberated for less than two hours. The jury found him guilty of one count under and , one count of violating and , and one count of conspiracy, under , to violate sections 485 and 486. He faces up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and may be forced to give $7 million worth of minted coins and precious metals to the government, weighing 16,000 pounds. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Anne M. Tompkins, described the Liberty Dollar as "a unique form of domestic terrorism" that is trying "to undermine the legitimate currency of this country". The Justice Department press release quotes her as saying: "While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country." According to the Associated Press, "Federal prosecutors successfully argued that von NotHaus was, in fact, trying to pass off the silver coins as U.S. currency. Coming in denominations of 5, 10, 20, and 50, the Liberty Dollars also featured a dollar sign, the word "dollar" and the motto "Trust in God," similar to the "In God We Trust" that appears on U.S. coins". The conviction was appealed. Since his trial, "The New York Times" has said that some people describe von NotHaus as "the Rosa Parks of the constitutional currency movement." He appealed his conviction but his appeal was denied on 10 November 2014. On Nov 11th, 2014 Judge Voorhees denied von NotHaus' Motion for Acquittal. On December 2, 2014, despite prosecutor demands that he serve as much as 23 years in federal prison, he was sentenced to 6 months house arrest, with 3 years probation.As part of his reasoning for delivering a greatly reduced sentence from what Federal Prosecutors demanded, Judge Richard L. Voorhees considered von NotHaus' appeal, which stated:  The conviction, which was seen as a victory for the government, has now defined as prohibiting the use of silver bullion, or any other metal coin or bar not issued under government authority, from being used as currency in commerce. The Silver Certificates issued by Liberty Services were not considered any form of counterfeiting or violation of law.