Kaweah guilty of fraud

Jury finds self-proclaimed Indian chief guiltyThe self-proclaimed leader of a group that claims to be an American Indian tribe was found guilty Wednesday of defrauding immigrants by falsely telling them tribal membership would make them U.S. citizens.

Malcolm Webber, 70, was found guilty Wednesday six charges arising from the unrecognized tribe's efforts to sell tribal memberships. After seven hours of deliberations, a jury in U.S. District Court in Wichita found Webber not guilty on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by submitting false passport applications.Comment:  So the jury took seven hours to decide seven charges? As I expected, that was fairly quick. The jurors may have spent most of the time debating the single "not guilty" verdict.

Webber's lawyers didn't even put on a defense. Well, what could they have said? They were hinting at an "ignorance of the law" defense, but "ignorance of the law is no excuse."

Anyway, bye-bye, Webber. Hope you enjoy your stay in prison. I suggest you read up on federal Indian law during your long, lonely incarceration.