From the Lincoln Journal Star:
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.
Here is a link to the BAR’s final notice of denial of Kaweah’s petition for federal recognition.
Turtle Talk 