Thread: California man free in immigration fraud case

California man free in immigration fraud case

Kan. (AP) — A California man who admitted selling memberships for a group that claimed to be an American Indian tribe was sentenced Monday to time served for his part in a scheme to defraud immigrants.

Victor Orellana showed no emotion as he was given the lenient sentence prosecutors sought in exchange for his cooperation in the case against the Kaweah Indian Nation's self-proclaimed grand chief, Malcolm Webber.

Prosecutors contend the group is a fake tribe that falsely claimed membership in the tribe conferred U.S. citizenship.

Orellana pleaded guilty in August to failing to report a crime to authorities. He was sentenced to one year of supervised release in addition to the several days in jail he served last year before being released on bond.

U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown warned Orellana, a lawful U.S. resident and native of Guatemala, that he may be subject to deportation because of his felony conviction.

Outside the courtroom, Orellana claimed Monday he had done nothing wrong.

Orellana acknowledged before his hearing that while he had helped sell the memberships, he believed at the time that the tribal documents would allow immigrants to obtain Social Security cards and other benefits.

He said he was convinced the tribal documents were legitimate after visiting Wichita and seeing the Kaweah offices, adding he also went to the Social Security office in Wichita, where officials seemingly accepted his tribal papers.

"Who would not have believed," Orellana said in Spanish.

Prosecutors say police seized $12,700 in cash from his Long Beach, California, home after finding a line of Spanish-speaking people waiting to buy tribal memberships for about $600 each.

Prosecutors sought the lenient sentence, citing his trial testimony against Webber. He could have been sentenced to up to six months in prison.

Orellana testified at Webber's trial in August that he bought tribal memberships for himself and his family and traveled to Wichita to pick up the documents.

Federal prosecutors charged 11 people and the Kaweah Indian Nation with crimes from January 2005 and September 2007. Charges were dismissed against the tribe and two defendants; one remains a fugitive; and seven others have pleaded guilty to reduced charges.

Webber, the only defendant to stand trial, was found guilty of six charges arising from the tribe's efforts to sell memberships. He was acquitted of one charge. His sentencing is in December.

In 1984, the Bureau of Indian Affairs denied Webber's request for federal recognition of his Kaweah Indian Nation. The agency said Webber is not an Indian and that his organization has no historical characteristics of an Indian tribe.

Even if the tribe were recognized, membership would not make someone a U.S. citizen.
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I just hope this story is distributed widely so that anyone deciding to come here will think twice. Their own countrymen have deceived them because of their lack of knowledge of laws in this country.
Sorry I have very little sympathy for those deceived, as they came here illegally for personal financial gain.