NAFPS Forum

General => Frauds => Topic started by: educatedindian on July 24, 2007, 05:27:20 pm

Title: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on July 24, 2007, 05:27:20 pm: http://www.tanasijournal.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=398&Itemid=1
Throughout South Texas, a group calling itself the “Kaweah Indian Nation??? has been selling “citizenship??? into the tribe to undocumented immigrants. Representatives have claimed that these documents will eventually lead to U.S. citizenship allow the owner to travel freely in the country and into and out of the country. They are approaching pastors of small rural churches, a place of deep faith and trust for immigrant families, and convincing them to sign up their congregations.

I have been working closely with César Chávez’ community union, La Unión del Pueblo Entero, to investigate this scam that is costing hard-working families $400-$1400. Unfortunately, for the [families] I have spoken with, their hopes and dreams of living and working here legally have been ruined once again.

The federal government does not recognize the Kaweah Indian Nation; in fact, its application was denied in the 1980s. Only one recognized tribe, the Kickapoo near Eagle Pass, has the right to dual citizenship in United States and Mexico because of the location of its historic tribal lands.

This scam has spread across the United States and Mexico. We have had calls from Houston and as far away as Georgia and California. I am working hard to spread the word that families should not buy these papers and should not present these papers to government officials as proof of any right to be in the United States. Below is an article from the Rio Grande Valley newspaper.

Corinna Spencer-Scheurich
Consumer Law Fellow
South Texas Civil Rights Project

-----

Valle 8 junio 2007 - Original Article on Rumbonet.com
La tribu de los papeles sin valor legal
JORGE LUIS SIERRA

Indocumentados entregaron dinero por certificados de la Kaweah Indian Nation

ALTON — Integrantes del grupo Kaweah Indian Nation Inc. (KIN) han penetrado las redes de pastores de iglesias evangélicas locales para reclutar a trabajadores indocumentados como miembros de esa supuesta tribu india. Según testimonios, KIN ofrece a los indocumentados la posibilidad de regularizar su situación migratoria, previo pago del trámite de membresía de la tribu, que asciende a unos $400 por persona en promedio.

El líder de ese grupo, Malcolm L. Webber —conocido como el ‘Grand Chief Thunderbird IV’—, se ostenta también como presidente de la Congregational Bible Church Inc., según pastores e inmigrantes entrevistados. Su condición pastoral le facilitó el acercamiento a congregaciones evangélicas de Mission, Alton, Weslaco, ??lamo y San Juan, así como promover la adhesión a la tribu entre sus fieles, muchos de ellos indocumentados mexicanos.

Webber, a quien el gobierno federal no le reconoce ascendencia india, comenzó por invitar a la tribu a pastores evangélicos y a sus familias. Después, los pastores le pidieron que la invitación se extendiera a todos los miembros de sus iglesias, dijo Jorge Villarreal, pastor de la iglesia Carros de Israel, en Alton.

Pero los documentos de ‘ciudadanía india’ que KIN ofrece no dan derecho a quien los posee de gozar de beneficios migratorios o de derechos propios de los ciudadanos estadounidenses. La abogada Corinna Spencer, del South Texas Civil Rights Project, dijo que los documentos de KIN carecen de validez porque no está reconocida por el gobierno federal. La Oficina de Asuntos Indios del Departamento del Interior de Estados Unidos confirmó que KIN no cumplió con los requisitos obligatorios para ser reconocida como tribu india y, por tanto, se le negó el reconocimiento federal en 1985. Desde entonces KIN no ha vuelto a solicitar su reconocimiento ante el Departamento del Interior
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on July 24, 2007, 05:43:30 pm: It looks like this group has been around since 1980 at least.

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/tribesnonrec.html
NORTH CAROLINA...
Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc., 4/28/80; acknowledgement declined, 6/10/85

http://www.indianz.com/adc20/Kin/V001/D008.PDF
"pril 1, 1985....
Secretary has determined that the Kaweah Indian Nation does not exist as a tribe within the meaning of federal law....the group does not meet three ofthe seven criteria...parties were given 120 days to submit evidence...no rebuttals or other comments were received...no evidence was submitted which would warrant changing the conclusion that the Kaweah Indian Nation does not exist as a tribe within the meaning of federal law....this determination is final."

http://www.aaanativearts.com/article706.html
Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc.
c/o Mr. Malcolm Webber (Phone Unknown)
Route 1, Box 99 (Last Known Address)
Oriental, NC 28571
Letter of Intent to Petition 04/28/1980;
certified letter returned by P.O. 10/1997
Declined to Acknowledge 06/10/1985 50 FR 14302
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on July 24, 2007, 05:47:05 pm: Wait, he's tied to this group of alleged Lumbees we've talked about long ago. It doesn't get much more bizarre than this.

http://threeoaks.bloggerteam.com/entry.php?u=ThreeOaks&e_id=290105
7/16/2007 - Malcom L. Webber And The Kaweah Indian Nation
My previous post mentioned Malcom L. Webber as being connected in the past to the OIE Title VII program in the Visalia Unified School District of San Joaquin Valley, California. According to actual school demographics, the school district has less than 0.1 percent American Indian/Alaska Native students.

After forming the United Lumbee Nation of North Carolina and America, Inc. in North Carolina in 1976, Webber moved his operations to California. There, in the summer of 1980, Webber became involved in a dispute with other ULN leaders over the handling of funds. This dispute resulted with Webber and the other leaders of the ULN, John and Eva Reed and Ruby Boyer, mutually exorcising each other. That same summer, Webber then created the Kaweah Indian Nation (KIN).

The ULN members primarily from the Exeter, California, area stayed with the Reeds and retained the name of the ULN. Most of the members in Porterville remained loyal to Webber and took on the new name of Kaweah Indian Nation (KIN). Since then, the UNL has expanded it’s operations through the selling of charters and chiefdoms in approximately 41 states.

As with many similar individuals and fabricated tribes, Webber has been on the continuous lookout for new ways for his Kaweah Indian Nation to make money off of an unsuspecting populace. In 1981 he moved to Oatman, Arizona, where he attempted to convince the Tule River Tribes, a federally recognized tribe, to push for the ratification of an un-ratified 1851 treaty between the United States and the Taches and Cah-wai. This soon became an embarrassment to the Tule River Tribe and the tribal leadership refused to associate with Webber.

Meanwhile, Webber convinced several of Oatman’s residents and businessmen that he would bring tourism to the small town (population then was around 70) through Indian arts and crafts and sponsoring “Indian Days???. “Indian Days??? turned out to be a 10 entry parade and recorded Indian music. He obtained a lease on a local store and established the T & M Trading Post, and began publishing the Oatman Burro News under the store’s auspice.

It wasn’t long before Webber began telling tourists that the KIN owned all the land in an area from Boulder City, Nevada, to a point east of Needles, California, and from Kingman, Arizona, west to the Colorado River - which he called the “Black Mountain Kaweah Indian Reservation???. He also claimed that the KIN owned all of the wild burro herd which roams the Arizona Black Mountains.

Things then decidedly went downhill fairly fast for Webber when he told a KIN member that she could build on a vacant lot in Oatman without the owner’s permission. He also posted a sign in his store announcing that the Kaweah’s owned the town and the surrounding area and that residents could not buy or sell property without permission from the Kaweah Indian Council.

To enforce this policy, Webber brought in a “tribal policeman,??? who, dressed in loin cloth and holstered side arm and replete with face paint, stood, arms crossed, in front of the T & M Trading Post until he was confronted by an angry Oatman citizen. The “policeman??? retreated into the store and remained there until rescued by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department.

Webber’s time in Oatman was shortlived. On June 23, 1982, the Mohave Valley News published an article which stated Webber had been arrested on a morals charge. He subsequently served a year in the Mohave County jail in Kingman.

While the vast majority of fabricated “tribes??? target the general populace for their membership drives, Webber and his Kaweah Indian Nation have added a new twist. The KIN targets undocumented Mexicans for membership, claiming that being a member of the “tribe??? will lead to U.S. citizenship and will also allow them to travel freely between the U.S. and Mexico.

This scam has been recorded in recent years in both South Texas and Kansas, and has most likely been orchestrated in other states also. The most recent report is of this year in Missouri, where a KIN member who is operating out of Carthage is selling “tribal adoption??? papers. It’s also reported that some of those purchasing the “tribal??? documentation are then attempting to get Social Security Cards in St. Louis.

When Webber first started his tribe, membership fees were $10.00. The targeted Mexican families are now charged between $400-$1400. Whichever position one takes on the current immigration issue should be immaterial in what Webber and his “tribe??? are doing. It is wrong, period.
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on July 24, 2007, 05:49:26 pm: Earlier article
http://threeoaks.bloggerteam.com/entry.php?u=ThreeOaks&e_id=290069
7/15/2007 - Worse Than First Thought
The extent of OIE mismanagement of Title VII funds now appears to be much wider than the exposed cases in Arkansas. While certain Alabama schools have been suspect for quite some time, schools in California that have less than one percent American Indian students are raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in funds that should be going to the education of American Indian children.

At least one California school district, the Lindsay Unified School District, in Lindsay, has been approved Title VII funds for use in a Dual Language Immersion Program for Hispanic students.

As with the Lost Cherokee in Arkansas being involved with Title VII grants, at least two Californian school districts schools had Title VII programs that were influenced by members of known fabricated tribes: Felix Rocha, “Chief of the Red Tail Hawk Clan for the United Lumbee Nation of Northern California and America (a Sovereign Indian Nation) in Orange and San Diego Counties“ and Malcolm L Webber, “Chief Thunderbird??? of his own creation, the “Kaweah??? tribe.

More on Webber and his current scam in the targeting of undocumented Mexicans to become "tribal members" is forthcoming.

It’s also clear that OIE officials in charge of administering Title VII grants know little or nothing about American Indian tribes. They certainly are unable to give adequate guidance to schools that have questions about to identify legitimate Indian students from those who are enrolled under a fabricated “tribe???. Last June, a school official contacted OIE on how to properly complete the Form 506 for Indian students and how identify legitimate Indian tribes. Annabelle Toledo, a grant administrator with OIE, responded:

“….. I don't know which tribes have tribal membership cards. There are over 550 (maybe higer) federal recognized tribes - a few state tribes (with the state tribes you probably have to google them).??? “Not all Federal recognize tribes give CDIB cards to their tribal members, they may keep the tribal enrollment of their tribal members on file.???

Goodness gracious, this is from an OIE administrator ? No wonder the agency can’t properly approve or administer Title VII grants.

The way things appear, there are possibly more non-Indian students benefiting from Title VII than Indian children. Unless a unified outcry is made by American Indian communities, our children will continue to be victims of a broken education system. Please help give our children the education they deserve and voice your concern over this disgraceful agency and it‘s anti-Indian practices.

The U.S. Department of Education and OIE malfeasance needs to be stopped now.
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on July 24, 2007, 05:56:10 pm: Not sure what to make of these. The third is so weird I don't know where to begin.

http://www.pcap.com/creativeadventures/bio.htm
Her Indian heritage (Cherokee\Algonquin), has given her a deep respect of the earth and love of storytelling. These attributes bring an enjoyable dimension to her tours and art. She is a registered member of the northern Tsalage Nation in Virginia, holds membership and is presiding Elder in Nevada for the Kaweah Nation, representing all Native Americans in the western states. She is also a minister with the Native American Church.

http://www.nanews.org/archive/1995/nanews03.047
Dec 2-3 Boston, MA Daine of the Kaweah Nation Hosts a Powwow at the Boston Bayside

http://p216.ezboard.com/Underground-Cities-Grand-Canyon-and-Related/ffwchathenbruckandtheroadesminesfrm38.showMessage?topicID=2.topic
The following is another story we owe to "Southerutah" Who is a great collector of Indian stories......Parts of which have been intensionally withheld.

Could this relate to the above story?

ITXA (KAWEAH) CITIES

The Kaweah does not use the stone cities that they gave up years ago. Only the Pueblo do today. The Itxa the sea people the yellow-white race from the Pacific Ocean, came from their land that was sunk. The outcast Itxa Chichimecs who later form the Toltec Empire with their capitol at TULA, Later the outcast Itxa Aztecs destroyed Tula in 1168 A.D, a large group moved south under their leader KUKULCAN and became the ITZA and dominated the new Empire of the Mayans. The Itxa language is a mother tongue of many with some Ways words in it. The Bow Clan from the lost land of Atlantis brought their evil ways with them arrived on the continent.
The Sea Gull Itxa Clan quarreled with the Bow Clan at the Pacific and drove them hack east.
We the Itxa people came from the south with our Corn, Sun, and Eagle Clans to join with cur brothers at Anasazi, the atone cities, is the stone walls. We came around 11 A.D. on our way west to the great water. Our spears were sharp and cur shields strong to protect our Rio Clans against their enemies.

Today our pictures are on many stone walls. Each warrior Clan has a long lodge where their clan secrets and ceremonial ways are kept. No one of the clan is to tell what they learned in the lodge in the old days, it was done in a kiva.

Cawa-Supa (City of the Moon) Itxa name for XXXXXXX is part of XXXXXXX on the XXXXX Reservation. We the Itxa War Clans helped to build Cawa-Supa in honor of the moon. Yes, the white man called the city of the Anasazi XXXXXX. Our Warrior Clans built their kivas one for each Clan. Our many thousands of Warriors watch over the city of Cawa-Supa where Kaweah gave up the idea of building the kiva. The Itxa Warrior Clans left Cawa-Supa and the Peace Clans also left one by one to build other cities. The Itxa people brought masons to Cawa-Supa from our great city in the South.

The secret of the dead we buried in a secret cave with many holes in the wall and sealed by the Snake Clan the last Clan of the city to leave.

Cawa-Tutic (City to learn and teach) near the XXXXX River, sixty eight miles north of XXXXXX (Cawa-Supa), in a valley of XXXXX, rises the Aztec ruin of the Itxa (Kaweah) Thunderbird priests and medicine men who built the great Kiva to the great Spirit the Creator. The Kachina dancers of the Itxa dance before the Great Spirit. They wore masks for each Holy Spirit.

Our masons taught the other Clans how to build their own Pueblos. Cawa-Tutic (Aztec ruin) our last city we built to show our Kin Clans how it should be done by the Flute and Snake Clans, also the last to leave around 1128 A.D. We the Itxa warriors left the city to our Kin Clans and moved back south to Mexico to fight for many great Chiefs. But some of our people turned back to rebuild Cawa-Tutic, but abandoned the city later on for good.

The Toltec came after the Itxa and joined their warriors with them, together they conquered the Yucatan Peninsula and the Maya. After which they built the great city of Itza-Mayapan. We the Itza fell before the Spanish with our last leaders in 1541. Itza rulers fought for supremacy and Itza-Mayapan was eventually destroyed.

The powerful Kaweah Indian Nation of today spreads from Canada to South America which numbers in the thousands.
This powerful Sea and River people who moved into the South east you will learn went underground 1500 years ago. Most of them still living went underground before 1850.
Only a few XXXXX and XXXX Medicine men knew why and kept the secret. Most of them are now dead.
Now, the great Sea and River People. the ANASAZI or KAWEAH are coming into the light.
This history of the ANASAZI (ANASAXI) is being brought to light by the ANASAZI GROUND COUNCIL OF CHIEFS. This powerful council of the Indian World, many are not known by the world, led by the Spirit of the GREAT CREATOR.

The North American Southwest is the Northern part of the great Itxa empire of old, the ITZA (ITXA) EMPIRE covers part of what is Western Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, California, part of Western Oklahoma and Texas and all Northern Mexico.

The Capitol City TEOTHIHUACAN still stands today in Mexico. These people built great cities and highways, temples etc. The Kaweah, the descendants of the powerful ancient ITXACAN EMPIRE of NORTHERN MEXICO and U.S.A. still number in the millions today.

The ancient fourteen warrior societies of the ITXA are still in force today with thousands of warriors. The ITXACAN THUNDERBIRD SHIPS with FIRE WEAPONS are hid in caves and tunnels in underground cities today.
The ATHAPASKANS the ITXACANS who went north returned to the southwest among the Pueblo descendants of the ITXACANS.
The ITXACAN of the Western U.S.A. and Mexico who are called ANASAZI by the Navajos means ANCIENT ONES. If the whole history was written it would be a 1555 page book. The KAWEAN INDIANS of the MOUNTAINS came into the public eye ten years ago.

We the ITXA or ITXACAN, the CHILDREN OF LIGHT cry and wept asking GOD to deliver us from the wild ones who move against our land. Our Prince and Chiefs of the CIRCLE OF LIGHT pray for help from GOD. At one time our lands had running rivers and lakes, but they have all dried up, and the once green land is now dying from lack of water. We watch the animals, birds and fish etc. dying from lack of water in the land.

We have been forced to move to high pueblos in the cliffs to protect our people. Our once powerful civilization is falling apart. The GREAT SPIRIT (GOD) heard our many prayers from our people who love HIM. He sent the MESSIAH unto us and HE taught us the way of the GREAT SPIRIT to love all things that he has made. He commanded us to go to all the tribes to teach HIS WAYS AND LOVE; SO THEY ALL CAN FIND THE TRUTH.

Then came the day that the RED MESSIAH appeared into the Circle Of Light and spoke to the Prince and Chiefs of the Nation to get them ready to leave the land.

We the ITXACANS (ANASAZI) were told to leave our land and to carry what we can and leave the rest behind. We left at night with our Prince and his wife with the High Chiefs to the STAR CARRIERS to take us hack home to ATLAN. The RED MESSIAH led the way to ATLAS. Many of the Water Clan (Kaweah) moved west to the Western ocean. A great many of us went back underground to the caverns where our former homes were - to rebuild great underground cities again. Thousands of Fire Ships and Thunderbird Ships flew into the Heaven shove carrying us to the GREAT STAR SUN SHIPS, being led by the MESSIAH, SON OF GOD (GREAT SPIRIT) to our new home world.

But many of the Itxacans fear to leave the Earth so they went hack under ground to the old cities to build a new Empire in the caverns. High Prince Seven Deer and his Princess led the people to their former home. Today Prince Seven Deer and Wife are mummified and hidden in the caverns of great treasures of plates of gold. silver, copper of the world history etc., to be given to man when the MESSIAH comes back to reclaim the Earth, and HIS CHOSEN PSOPIS. Also in the caverns are our fire weapons and thousands of Fire Ships and Thunderbirds (LARGE TRANSPORT SHIPS) to be used again against the dark lords of Satan.

The mighty powerful Kaweah Nation of the ancient Itza or Anasazi who are now all over the United States and Mexico today, are ready for the powerful Anasazi Prince Chief of today to give the word to move. Thousands of Fire Ships and Thunderbirds are being tested and getting ready with thousands of Kaweah-Itxacans Warriors being armed with fire weapons and are waiting for the word from the GREAT SPIRIT to move. To heal the land and bring the American nations back to GOD in SPIRIT AND TRUTH.

The people who came were evil and were cast out from the nation because they follow the dark lords, and later came to be known as the Aztecs and others in Mexico who were cast cut of the Council of light, because of their evil gods and cults of the dark lords which caused their downfall in the end. The human sacrifice cult of Satan came to an end. The GREAT SPIRIT is still leading the Anasazi people of today. The modern scientists etc; and their guess work are still lying to the people today. Many false teachers in Religious teachings etc., will be driven from the American Nation in the future by the POWER OF GOD.

Back to the past again. Many will come out of caverns protected by our FORCE FIELDS. Many wars are fought in the past and today in the caverns against the dark lords of Satan.

The RED MESSIAH will come back to set HIS people free. All the people with Indian blood in them will get their true rights hack again. We the KAWEAH (ITXACANS) of two worlds hope this will tell you a little about us and our nations and tribes of people. So much will not be told of history and customs etc. The Itxa or ITXACAN EMPIRE OF TWO STAR SYSTEM of TWO SUNS that are called SET and TET with seven worlds that are called SERT, ONI, ATLAN EMPIRE WORLD, TULA, MU,AN, and ITZA. Modern archaeologists say so much history is lost, but this is not true it is all hidden from mankind because the GREAT SPIRIT wishes it so.

Edited by: Digger II at: 3/24/04 12:21 pm
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: ironbuffalo on July 25, 2007, 12:57:40 am: Quote
holds membership and is presiding Elder in Nevada for the Kaweah Nation, representing all Native Americans in the western states.

Holy crap! I had no idea this white woman was my chief! ::)

This will be big news out in Duck Valley next week at our sundance.....
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on July 25, 2007, 02:40:56 pm: Yeah, didn't you know that they'd all chosen a white woman giving wild west talks for tourists as elder?

Webber is sure pretty ambitious, not only in telling white women they can make themselves an elder for every tribe west of the Mississippi. That "indian story" reads like someone on acid doing their version of Chariots of the Gods, based on old archeology books.

The "Kaweah" claim to be not only Anasazi but Aztec, Toltec, Mayan, Athapascan, Pueblo, and even from Atlantis.

This must be the first time I've heard of Atlantis being in the desert. :)

Hey, he's got every angle covered, UFOs, buried treasure, a "sea gull clan" for desert tribes, and talk about fighting Satan.

Anyone have any idea what "his chosen psopis" means? Only thing I could find was online gamers using it as a term, for what I'm not sure.
http://www.hfd.de/index.php?action=wars_opponentinfo&opponentID=2098&newlanguage=en
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: ironbuffalo on July 25, 2007, 11:00:54 pm: "his chosen psopis" sounds like an STD or something.
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: frederica on July 27, 2007, 02:35:03 pm: looks something like Java Sun, but also can be for music and chat groups. Need Ingeborg it's all in German. frederica
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on August 17, 2007, 12:23:50 am: More charges against them.

-----

"Kansas U.S. Attorney Says Tribe Being Investigated," Oskar Garcia, The
Associated Press State & Local Wire, August 15, 2007. Copyright 2007
Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

["The U.S. attorney in Kansas is investigating a non-federally recognized American Indian tribe for recruiting thousands of Hispanic illegal
immigrants by telling them that joining will keep them from being deported.
For as little as $50 per membership, tribes promise documents that bestow legal status enough to get illegal immigrants out of trouble when
approached by federal agents. But immigration advocates and federal officials say the practice may defraud illegal immigrants out of thousands of dollars and giving them false hope. In Nebraska, some people reported paying up to $1,200 to join the Kaweah Indian Nation, according to Angel Freytez of the Nebraska Mexican-American Commission. The federal investigation in Kansas was spurred after two Mexicans were indicted for allegedly trying to get U.S. passports and Social Security cards by claiming to be members of theKaweah tribe. Now the U.S. attorney in Kansas is investigating the Wichita,Kan.-based Kaweah Indian Nation, which has sold at least 10,000 tribal memberships to illegal immigrants in several states, according to Manuel Urbina, the tribe's high chief. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the Department of the Interior, the Kaweah group was denied federal recognition in 1985 because it was not a real tribe."]
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: Scott Brainard on August 19, 2007, 04:18:18 pm: Another article, this one mentioning both Kaweah and the Little Shell folks.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8R2VJ202&show_article=1&catnum=0
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on August 23, 2007, 12:33:57 am: The State of Texas is filing a civil suit against them.

------
"Texas Goes After Indian Tribe's Alleged Immigration Scheme," Lynn
Brezosky,
Associated Press State & Local Wire, August 21, 2007. Copyright 2007
The
Associated Press State & Local Wire. All Rights Reserved.

["An Indian tribe not recognized by the government sold memberships to
illegal immigrants in a fraudulent scheme that promised protection from
U.S.
immigration laws, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott alleged Tuesday.
Abbott's office, which announced the Monday filing of a civil lawsuit
against the Kaweah Indian Nation Inc., of Wichita, Kan., said the group
took
up to $400 each from an unknown number of immigrants for the guarantee
of a
Social Security number and a 'Certificate of Citizenship' card that
brought
protection from deportation proceedings. The tribe told immigrants the
card
also would be good for U.S. citizenship if the Kaweah nation gained
federal
recognition as an Indian tribe, Abbott said. The lawsuit seeks to stop
what
he alleges to be misleading recruitment and calls for a fine of up to
$20,000 for each violation under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices
Act....
Last week, the tribe's secretary, a woman from El Salvador, and her
Guatemalan husband were charged in Wichita with federal immigration
violations in what prosecutors called a multistate immigration scam. In
Nebraska, some people reported paying up to $1,200 to join the tribe,
and
Angel Freytez of the Nebraska Mexican-American Commission said
advocates
have fielded complaints about the group.... The Kaweah Indian Nation
said it
was unaware of the lawsuit until contacted by The Associated Press at
the
tribe's Wichita headquarters."]
Title: Texasa AG suit
Post by: littlefeatherspiri on August 31, 2007, 03:28:37 am: http://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagNews/release.php?id=2144

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/newspubs/releases/2007/082007kin_pop.pdf
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: PLH on September 07, 2007, 01:49:36 pm: The following news story comes from www.ksn.com/news

Leader of Wichita-based American Indian tribe arrested
WICHITA, Kansas, Sept. 6, 2007 – Law enforcement officials have raided the Wichita offices of an American Indian tribe that is not recognized by the government.
Authorities say the Kaweah Indian Nation sold memberships to illegal immigrants, promising citizenship. The U.S. Attorney's office says the group's tribal leader was arrested Thursday.

Federal agents spent a good part of the day serving a federal search warrant at the group's office at 5512 W. Central. The agents hauled away file cabinets, apparently as part of their multi-state investigation.

The person arrested Thursday is the Malcolm Webber, also known as Chief Grand Chief Thunderbird the Fourth.

Immigrations agents are looking into whether Webber sold tribal memberships to illegal immigrants, telling them it would keep them from being deported.

The tribe has offices on west Central and on south Meridian, both which were searched by a number of agencies including immigration services, the U.S. Postal Inspector's Office and the Wichita Police Department.

The tribe is based in Wichita, but federal officials tell KSN this is a multi-state investigation.

"It is a case that has impacted places around the country, I can tell you that," said Carl Rusnok, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Webber defended his actions last month to a Nebraska newspaper, saying American Indians came before there were borders, so immigrants can enroll as tribal members.

Webber is expected to make an appearance in front of a federal judge Friday.

Story Updated: Sep 6, 2007 at 7:27 PM CDT
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: TRIBALMOONS@yahoo.com on September 07, 2007, 02:27:59 pm: http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/004789.asp
Title: Arrested: Fake Kaweah Leader
Post by: littlefeatherspiri on September 07, 2007, 04:56:55 pm: Kaweah leader arrested in raid
BY TIM POTTER
The Wichita Eagle

Mike Hutmacher/The Wichita Eagle
Federal law enforcement officers and Wichita police remove boxes of evidence from Kaweah Indian Nation office on west Central.
Read the bureau's refusal to recognize the Kaweah tribe
As part of a multistate investigation, federal and local officers raided the Wichita offices of a purported American Indian tribe Thursday and arrested its leader.

Officials expect to charge Malcolm L. Webber today.

The Kaweah Indian Nation, which is not recognized as a tribe by the federal government, has been under investigation in several states over allegations that it illegally sold tribal memberships to immigrants -- for up to $400 -- with the claim that it would enable them to gain citizenship.

Emira Palacios, a coordinator with Sunflower Community Action, said word has spread that some members of Wichita's Hispanic churches bought memberships. She said it concerned her because she had read that the Kaweah Indian Nation was being investigated. The Eagle published three articles about the group in August.

The idea of buying a tribal membership in what is not a recognized tribe "didn't sound valid to me," she said.

Yet, she said, immigrants sometimes become desperate to gain citizenship.

Webber, 69, was being held in the Sedgwick County Jail on Thursday night. Today, authorities expect to charge him in federal court in Wichita, said Jim Cross, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. Cross said he couldn't discuss what the charges might be.

Neither Webber, his relatives nor the group's spokesman could be reached for comment. In the past, Kaweah spokesman Manuel Urbina has denied that the tribe was breaking the law.

After Webber's arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement saying the investigation is focused on "whether Webber illegally sold tribal membership to illegal aliens and aliens lawfully admitted to the United States under the misconception that these documents provide immediate U.S. citizenship."

According to Kaweah's not-for-profit corporate annual report filed with the state earlier this year, it had 7,500 members. At other times the group has said it has a national membership of 10,000.

According to a U.S. Department of Interior document from 1984: "The Kaweah Indian Nation Inc. is a recently formed corporation which did not exist prior to 1980. The organization was formed under the leadership of a non-Indian, Malcolm L. Webber...."

Webber also goes by the name Chief Thunderbird IV.

The document adds: "There is no evidence that the group was ever identified as having been an American Indian entity by recognized Indian tribes, governmental agencies, scholars or other sources."

In the raids, starting around 9 a.m. Thursday, about a dozen Wichita police officers assisted about the same number of federal agents in executing search warrants at Kaweah Indian Nation offices at 2243 S. Meridian and 5512 W. Central.

The search warrants were for anything related to sales of tribal memberships, Cross said.

The raids included agents from the departments of State and Interior, ICE, the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

At the West Central offices, investigators loaded boxes of what appeared to be documents into an unmarked van. A car in a parking lot next to the offices bore a sticker reading: "Jesus is Lord. Pastor M.L. Webber."

A sign outside the West Central office says: "Kaweah Indian Nation. Victory in Christ Church. Congregation Bible Churches."

Agents remained at the offices throughout the day.

A sign in the South Meridian office identified it as the group's "processing center."

Before moving into the West Central location, the church was located in a small strip mall at 3031 W. Pawnee.

A woman who works nearby, who asked that her name not be used, said the mall parking lot would regularly fill with vehicles from California, Colorado and Texas.

"Lots of fancy vehicles with out-of-state tags," she said.

Last month, the group's secretary, a woman from El Salvador, and her Guatemalan husband were charged in Wichita with federal immigration violations that prosecutors said were linked to the Kaweah investigation.

Also last month, the Texas attorney general's office sued Webber, the Kaweah Indian Nation Inc. and two group members. The lawsuit alleged they fraudulently sold memberships by claiming that tribal members could obtain a Social Security number, protection from deportation and U.S. citizenship once the group is federally recognized.

The Nebraska Mexican-American Commission recently posted a warning on its Web site, saying church members from several Nebraska cities said the group's representatives approached them.

"I'm just impressed that the arrest took place so quickly," said Angel Freytez, spokesman for the Nebraska Mexican-American Commission.

"Regardless of (immigrants') status in the U.S., we cannot allow other people to profit from the drama and tragedy of others," he said.

Contributing: Hurst Laviana and Dion Lefler of The Eagle; Associated Press
Reach Tim Potter at 316-268-6684 or tpotter@wichitaeagle.com.
Title: Texas AG seeks default judgment against unrecognized tribe
Post by: earthw7 on November 16, 2007, 08:48:59 pm: Texas AG seeks default judgment against unrecognized tribe

Crime/Justice - Criminal Cases
By Roxana Hegeman
Wichita, Kansas (AP) 11-07

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is seeking a default judgment against an unrecognized American Indian tribe that allegedly defrauded illegal immigrants by falsely claiming they could get Social Security numbers if they bought tribal memberships.

The Wichita-based Kaweah Indian Nation and its self-proclaimed chief, Malcolm L. Webber, failed to answer a lawsuit filed against them in August by the Texas attorney general’s office alleging they violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, said Paco Felici, spokesman for the Texas attorney general’s office. In its lawsuit, the Texas attorney general’s office contended that the tribe sold memberships for up to $400 per person to immigrants by saying that tribal members could get a Social Security number and protection from deportation. Immigrants were also allegedly told they would be entitled to receive U.S. citizenship once the tribe was federally recognized.

Kurt Kerns, the court-appointed defense attorney representing the tribe and Webber in a separate federal criminal case with similar allegations, was out of his office. He did not return phone messages left at his office and on his cell phone.

A man who answered the phone at Webber’s home said Webber no longer lived there and hung up.

Kerns previously has said that Webber was a victim of renegade underlings who sold tribal memberships to immigrants and pocketed the money. Kerns also has said that the government’s arrests of the employees was meant to scare and intimidate them and turn everybody against each other.

The two other defendants named in the Texas lawsuit – Ralph Benny Tipton of San Antonio and Victor Ramirez of Edinburg, Texas – have not been criminally charged, but they have denied the allegations in the civil action.

Their defense attorneys did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs ruled in 1984 that the Kaweah group had no historical link to American Indian tribes, and that Webber is not an Indian.

Court documents filed in a federal case against the Kaweah Indian Nation identify Tipton as the tribe’s ambassador to Mexico and the tribal chief for an area covering Austin to San Antonio. Tipton was also in charge of a Texas tribal police unit, according to a tribal newsletter filed as evidence in the federal case.

A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19 in Edinburg, Texas, on the attorney general’s request for a default judgment against the tribe and Webber.

The Texas lawsuit seeks an injunction to keep the tribe and its agents from selling memberships, restitution for victims, and a fine of up to $20,000 for each violation.

Texas authorities have yet to determine how many immigrants were defrauded or the final amount of the fine and restitution, Felici said.

“These defendants relied on promoting their services through fairly large congregations throughout Texas, so many consumers were exposed to the misinformation that the defendants were spreading,??? he said.

Separately, the U.S. attorney’s office in Wichita has filed federal charges against the tribe and 11 employees. That case is scheduled for trial on Aug. 5, 2008.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson told a federal judge last week he anticipated filing a superseding indictment adding more defendants and charges in a complex case that spans at least 10 states, including Nebraska, and involves an estimated 10,000 victims. Anderson said he didn’t think the Texas lawsuit would have any impact on the federal case in Kansas.

Felici also said he anticipated the federal case to have no bearing on the Texas civil case.

It is also unlikely the injunction sought by Texas would have any immediate effect. Conditions of Webber’s bond include that he stop all solicitations for tribal membership and that he disband all his tribal police units.
Title: Re: Texas AG seeks default judgment against unrecognized tribe
Post by: MikePutfus on November 17, 2007, 01:36:46 am: The Grand Chief Thunderbird the IV is a wonder. He just went a little to far this time. I remember when he claimed most of the West Coast belonged to him and his Tribe. That wannabe has to be close to 70 by now, and still at it.
Title: Rules against unrecognized Wichita Tribe
Post by: earthw7 on November 21, 2007, 02:31:56 pm: http://www.journals tar.com/articles /2007/11/ 19/news/nebraska /doc474203d993d
53497780552. txt

Judge rules against unrecognized Wichita tribe

By ROXANA HEGEMAN / The Associated Press
Monday, Nov 19, 2007 - 05:30:17 pm CST

WICHITA, Kan. — A Texas judge issued a permanent injunction Monday
prohibiting an unrecognized American Indian tribe and its self-proclaimed
chief from selling tribal memberships in an alleged scam to defraud illegal
immigrants by falsely claiming the documents would provide protection from
deportation.

District Judge Noe Gonzalez ruled that Malcolm Webber and his Wichita-based
Kaweah Indian Nation by default admitted the allegations in a lawsuit filed
by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Gonzalez issued the ruling because
the tribe and Webber failed to answer the lawsuit filed in August alleging
they violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The lawsuit contended that the tribe sold memberships for up to $400 per
person to immigrants by saying that members could get a Social Security
number. The lawsuit also alleged that immigrants were told they would be
entitled to receive U.S. citizenship once the tribe was federally
recognized.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs ruled in 1984 that the Kaweah group had no
historical link to American Indian tribes and that Webber is not an Indian.

The civil action against two other defendants — Ralph Benny Tipton of San
Antonio and Victor Ramirez of Edinburg, Texas — continues, said Paco
Felici, spokesman for the Texas Attorney General’s office. A trial date has
not been set.

“We are obviously working as hard as we can to put a permanent end to this
fraud and seek justice for harmed consumers,??? Felici said.

Tipton and Ramirez have not been criminally charged, but they have denied
the allegations in the lawsuit. Their attorneys could not immediately be
reached for comment Monday.

Monday’s ruling prohibits Kaweah and Webber from selling memberships or
representing the Kaweah Indian Nation as an acknowledged tribe. It also
enjoins them from representing that being a member of the tribe will
entitle a person to a Social Security number, protection from deportation
and U.S. citizenship.

Gonzalez also ordered them to not conceal or destroy any documents related
to their business and prohibited them from claiming that the Bureau of
Citizen and Immigration Services has approved any services for sale by
them.

Kurt Kerns, the court-appointed defense attorney representing the tribe and
Webber in a separate federal criminal case with similar allegations, did
not immediately return a call for comment. Kerns previously has said that
Webber was a victim of renegade underlings who sold tribal memberships to
immigrants and pocketed the money.

Manuel Urbina, who in the past represented himself as a tribal chief and
spokesman for the Kaweah, said Monday that he was no longer affiliated with
the tribe and did not know anything about the Texas case.

“There is nothing for me to say about it,??? Urbina said.

Felici said any restitution and penalties against the group and Webber
would be determined once the rest of the lawsuit against the remaining
defendants is finished. The lawsuit seeks restitution for victims and a
fine of up to $20,000 for each violation.

Separately, the U.S. attorney’s office in Wichita has filed federal charges
against the tribe and 11 employees. That case is scheduled for trial on
Aug. 5, 2008.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson told a federal judge earlier this
month he anticipated filing a superseding indictment adding more defendants
and charges in a complex case that spans at least 10 states, including
Nebraska, and involves an estimated 10,000 victims.
Title: Re: Rules against unrecognized Wichita Tribe
Post by: frederica on November 21, 2007, 03:06:24 pm: This could take forever, but good for that Judge. Finally.
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on March 16, 2008, 01:38:07 pm: Here's what the database on Fed recog says about the Kaweah:

http://www.indianz.com/adc20/Kin/V001/D008.PDF
"Final Determination that the Kaweah Indian Nation Inc. does not exist as an Indian tribe....the group does not satisfy three of the seven criteria."

http://www.indianz.com/adc20/Kin/V001/D005.PDF
"The Kaweah Indian Nation Inc. is a recently formed group that did not exist prior to 1980. The organization was formed under the leadership of a non-Indian, Malcolm L. Webber, as the result of the breakup of a similar organization, United Lumbee Nation Inc. KIN...has no relation to the aboriginal Kaweah Indians...KIN has no characteristics of an Indian tribe...Present membership of KIN is composed of individuals who claim Indian ancestry but none of whom claim Kaweah or Yokuts ancestry...The organization claims to have 2000 members but many of those appear to benames of individuals taken from other groups Webber previously formed and names taken from subscription lists from newspapers Webber previously published....

There is no evidence the group was ever recognized as an American Indian entity by recognized Indian tribes, government agencies, or scholars...The tribal council of the Tule River Tribes passed a reolution refusing to endorse, recognize, or support the KIN or its actitvities....

Members of the KIN claim Indian ancestry...none submitted documented genealogical evidence of Indian lineage....

An Augusts 22, 1980 letter states...members of the United Lumbee Nation voted to drop the name and change it to Kaweah Indian Nation...the Bureau received a copy...essentially the same document...All references to ULN and Lumbee were replaced with Kaweah...A statement regarding the prohibition of black arts and wtichcraft was also added....

Women were limited to holding office only when needed in office jobs but not the job of chief...the rsult of Webber's lost contest with Eva Reed and Ruby Boyer over control of the ULN....

Most of the group are Cherokee or Choctaw descendants...[Eva Reed] says the group has no illusions about being a tribe like the Hopis or the Navajos....

Webber's earlier organization the ULN...was raising funds to purchase land...A dispute arose...leaders mutually exorcised each other....

A number of members...were of the Native American Wolf Clan...An indeterminate amount of money was given to Webber as expense money....

In the Spring of 1981 an enrolled member of the Colorado Indian River Tribe who associated with the Kaweah...began commuting to Oatman Arizona to sell Indian crafts...Webber began coming with him...He obtained a lease on a local store...established the T and M Trading Post...publishing the Oatman Burro News....

A number of local business people joined the Kaweah...even though most were not known to have Indian ancestry...

Friction between the KIN and Oatman's citizens developed...concern that the KIN was a cult of sorts because of Webber's leadership in the formation of a new church the Congregational Bible Holiness Church....

Webber also claimed the wild burro which roams the Arizona Black Mountains belongs to the KIN....

Webber was telling tourists the KIN owned all the land from Boulder City nevad to a point east of Needles California and from Kingman Arizona west to the Colorado River....

Webber posted a sign in his store that the Kaweahs owned the town and surrounding area and that residents could not buy or sell property without permission...Webber apparently brought in a "tribal policeman" dressed in a loincloth and sidearm, replete with warpaint....

Webber sponsored Kaweah Indian Days...attempting to sell KIN memberships to tourists for ten dollars....celebration consisted primarily of a ten entry parade accompanied by tape recorded Indian music....

Webber...letter to the governor and Bureau..."Our people are mad and we are trying to hold our warriors back...It will make Wounded Knee look like and Sunday School picnic...."

When leaders of the Porterville group...learned of the situation...removed Webber...

Webber had been arrested on a morals charge...served a year in the Mohave County Jail in Kingman."
Title: American Indian Tribe Called Bogus
Post by: frederica on May 07, 2008, 12:29:29 am: American Indian Tribe Called Bogus By Paul Foy, Associated Press Writer/May 5, 2008
SALTLake City--A federal judge ordered a $63,000 civil-fraud judgement against 4 people who claim to be chiefs of an American Indian tribe in easter Utah.
The men, who got organized at an Arby's restaurant and claim to have hundreds of tribal members, refuse to recognize U.S. or state laws, have issued their own drivers' licenses and filed countless lawsuits against Utah authorities for ignoring their sovereignty. In a decision Monday, following a trial last week, U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot ordered the men to stop pretending to be Indians and pay Uintah County damages. He called their tribe "a complete sham". The group calls itself the Wampanoag Nation, borrowing from the name of two federally recognized Massachusetts tribes. Gayle Andrews, a spokeswoman for the Mashpee Wampanoags, said the Utah men are obvious impostors. She said the tribe often deals with phony membership claims. In the most feeble attempts to prove tribal affinity, others have offered pictures of their grandmothers dressed as Indian Princesses, she said. "A lot of white people are like, I'm Wampanoag", Andrews said. "But you can't just Google yourself into membership. It's not doable. Members of the Utah group have challenged traffic stops and other encounters with authorities, filing a host of lawsuits and unenforceable debt judgements that soured the credit rating of at least one sheriff's deputy. In one of its most audacious claims, the group recorded a $250 million debt against Uintah County Attorney JoAnn Stringham with a State agency. Uintah County turned one of the bogus lawsuits into counterclaims for racketeering and fraud. Friot said the four men and their organizations owe money to the county for damages caused by excessive litigation. They started playing this game in 2003, but we've been dealing with these guys for 25 years with their own sovereign city, said Ed Peterson, deputy county attorney. The group leader is Dale Stevens, 69, who lives without phone service in an unincorporated part of Uintah County. He claims a 13-acre patch to be sovereign. We're concerned about the judgment against the people of our tribe, said Martin Campbell, a retired 56 year old mechanic, who claims to be law-enforcement minister for the Wampanoag Nation of Utah. Campbell maintained he had some Indian blood, but said none of the leaders or members ever offered proof of Indian ancestry. The group has been sunsuccessful in getting federal recognition as a tribe, he said. Besides Stevens and Campbell, James W Burband and Thomas Smith are covered by the judge's order. Friot is a federal judge in Oklahoma who traveled to Utah to hear the case, because federal judges here have been sued by Stevens.
http://kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=8277472&nav=menu495_2
Title: Re: American Indian Tribe Called Bogus
Post by: educatedindian on May 07, 2008, 12:32:47 am: See also

http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=1490.0
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=591.0

Article moved to other thread.
Title: Re: American Indian Tribe Called Bogus
Post by: bls926 on May 16, 2008, 05:17:07 pm: Al, you're mixing the "fake tribes". First article is about the Utah Wampanoag Nation. The one you posted this morning is the Kaweah Indian Nation. They're both bogus, so I guess they could be lumped together. LOL
Title: Re: Kaweah Indian Nation
Post by: educatedindian on May 17, 2008, 12:47:06 pm: The "chief" is now claiming he did it all out of higher motives and is blaming the greed on others.

-------------------
http://www.fortmilltimes.com/124/story/163859.html
Defense says tribal chief believed he was helping immigrants
By ROXANA HEGEMAN (Published May 14, 2008)
WICHITA, Kan. — The self-proclaimed chief of an unrecognized American Indian tribe will argue at his trial that he had a "good faith belief" that selling tribal memberships was a legitimate way to help illegal immigrants take a step toward citizenship, court documents show.

Motions filed Wednesday in the case provide a glimpse into the defense strategy of Malcolm Webber, also known as Grand Chief Thunderbird IV. The defense is asking for an order to force prosecutors to turn over allegedly exculpatory evidence. It also wants to sever the chief's trial from the trial of his co-defendants.

Prosecutors contend the Kaweah Indian Nation defrauded legal and illegal immigrants across the nation by claiming tribal membership conferred U.S. citizenship and would allow immigrants to obtain other documents and benefits, including Social Security cards. The government pointed out that citizenship cannot be obtained in that manner.

On Wednesday, defense attorney Kurt Kerns filed a motion for a court order requiring prosecutors to turn over exculpatory evidence. Kerns, who represents the chief, argued that prosecutors have told him they have an audiotape of minutes of a meeting in which Webber said that allowing individuals into his tribe is not designed to be a moneymaking scheme, but is instead designed to help people.

Kerns told the court that Webber believed his conduct was lawful and that he thought he was providing a legitimate method by which illegal immigrants could become registered in the United States and enjoy a first step toward citizenship status.

The money that came in from the sale of the memberships - about $300,000 that the government is seeking in forfeiture - was not used to line Webber's own pockets, but was instead placed in a separate account eventually meant to buy land, Kerns told The Associated Press.

"He thought if they would buy land for a reservation there would be greater likelihood of federal recognition," Kerns said.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs denied Webber's request for federal recognition of his Kaweah Indian Nation in 1984. The agency said Webber was not an Indian and that his organization had no historic characteristics of an Indian tribe.

The U.S. attorney's office said it would have no comment on the filings.

Federal prosecutors last year charged 11 people, including the chief and the tribal entity, in a 17-count indictment. Charges have since been dismissed against one defendant, and another defendant has pleaded guilty to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship.

The indictment charges Webber, 69, of Bel Aire with four counts of harboring illegal immigrants, one count of possession of false documents with intent to defraud the United States, three counts of conspiracy with intent to defraud the United States, one count of mail fraud and one count of producing false identification documents.

Webber and the remaining nine defendants are scheduled for trial Aug. 5.

The defense contends that Webber advised individuals that membership in the tribe would be a first step to getting American citizenship after the tribe became federally recognized. But he contended others working under him sold memberships at inflated prices, forcing Webber at one point to fire one of them for it.

"The bulk of the 'fraud' was committed by underlings in their efforts to line their own pockets," the defense contends in its motion.

Kerns said in a motion that other defendants are arguing that they were duped by Webber, and that their trial should be separated because of mutually antagonistic and inconsistent defenses.

"The interests of justice would be best served by allowing defendant Webber to have his own trial versus a trial where he will not only have to defend himself against the federal government, but also against every other defense lawyer who is offering Malcolm up as the sacrificial lamb," Kerns said in court documents.

Remaining defendants named in the indictment are Debra J. Flynn of Wichita; Chuck Flynn of Wichita; Jorge B. Villareal, a citizen of Mexico who lived in Bell Flower, Calif.; Eduviges Del Carmen-Zamora of Wichita and a native of El Salvador; Angel O. Zamora, a citizen of Guatemala; Britton A. Bergman of Wichita; Hector Nolasco Pena, a citizen of Honduras who lives in Oklahoma City; and Victor W. Orvellana, a citizen of Mexico who lives in Long Beach, Calif.

Jamie Cervantes, a citizen of Mexico, has pleaded guilty to submitting a Social Security application in which he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen. His sentencing is June 30.
Title: -Nailing the Fraudulent
Post by: Kevin on August 14, 2008, 05:19:23 pm: http://www.indianz.com/News/2008/010330.asp

Leader of fake tribe guilty in immigration scam
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Filed Under: Law

A federal jury found a Kansas man who claims he is the leader of a tribe guilty for scamming immigrants with promises of U.S. citizenship.

Malcolm Webber calls himself the Grand Chief Thunderbird IV of the Kaweah Indian Nation. Prosecutors said he sold $600 "tribal membership" cards to immigrants and told them it would help them cross the border and win U.S. citizenship.

"Thousands of people paid for memberships in a fictitious Indian tribe dreamed up by Mr. Webber,??? said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren in a statement. "He gave them the false hope that joining his so-called Kaweah Indian Nation would make them U.S. citizens. The claim he made during trial that he had acted in good faith was not credible.???

A jury agreed that Webber was guilty of six fraud and immigration charges. He was acquitted on one conspiracy count.