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Kaweah Indian Nation

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littlefeatherspiri:
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.





 

earthw7:
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.
 

MikePutfus:
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.

earthw7:
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.

frederica:
This could take forever, but good for that Judge. Finally.

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