Jury weighs fate of head of disputed Kan. tribe

Jurors began deliberating Tuesday in the federal trial of a man accused of selling Native American tribal memberships to immigrants by falsely claiming the memberships conferred U.S. citizenship and other benefits.

The defense rested without calling any witnesses on behalf of Malcolm Webber, the self-proclaimed chief of the Kaweah Indian Nation. The jury deliberated about four hours Tuesday afternoon and returns to U.S. District Court on Wednesday morning to continue its work.

Prosecutors note that the Kaweah Indian Nation isn't federally recognized. They say the group sold memberships to more than 15,000 people nationwide, often through Hispanic churches, for $50 to more than $1,000 apiece.

Webber is charged with two counts of harboring illegal immigrants, two counts of possession of false documents with intent to defraud the United States, two counts of conspiracy with intent to defraud the United States and one count of mail fraud.

Defense attorney Kurt Kerns told jurors the government did not provide evidence that Webber had any criminal intent in selling the memberships. In his closing argument, Kerns noted that Webber told subordinates to stop telling people that tribal membership equaled citizenship.

The government denied federal recognition of Webber's group in 1985, saying it was not an authentic Indian tribe and that the 70-year-old Webber - who calls himself Grand Chief Thunderbird IV - has no Indian ancestry.

Kerns argued that the lack of federal recognition did not mean the Kaweah was not a legitimate Indian tribe.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson told jurors in his closing argument that the evidence showed Webber had been told repeatedly that his group could not grant legal immigration status.

Anderson told the jury that Webber convinced others his tribe was legitimate with "trinkets and window dressing" such as an armed, uniformed tribal police, official looking seals and documents, and signs in front of his office. He also noted the tribe kept no books and did not take out any withholding taxes for its employees.

"We see pretense after pretense," Anderson said. "It isn't real."