STOP FRAUDIANS

TO:
Regina Cuellar, Chairwoman, and Governing Council
Sacramento-Verona Band (acting under the false dba "Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians")
Sacramento, California

FROM:
Louie Lawrence Smith, III, Chairman
Wopumnes Nisenan and Mewuk Heritage Society 501(c)(3)
“1935 IRA Shingle Springs Indians Lineal Descendants”
3385 Bass Lake Rd, Ste 100 #1110
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
Email: info@Wopumnes.com

DATE: November 7, 2026

RE: IMMEDIATE CEASE AND DESIST FROM FRAUDULENT PUBLIC REPRESENTATION, FALSE ADVERTISING, USURPATION OF ABORIGINAL IDENTITY, AND UNLAWFUL PUBLIC PERFORMANCES

This letter serves as a formal and final CEASE AND DESIST DEMAND requiring you and the organization you represent (the Sacramento-Verona Band) to immediately halt all public misrepresentations, false advertising, fraudulent identity claims, and public parades or appearances falsely posing as the historic "Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians" and the true aboriginal Wopumnes/Shingle Springs Miwok Tribe.

Your recent appearance in the Native American Day Parade in Sacramento, California, parading under a hijacked historic identity to which you have zero genealogical, historical, or legal standing, constitutes an egregious violation of federal and state laws.

I. THE FACTUAL BASIS: ABSENCE OF HISTORICAL STANDING

As documented extensively in the public record, federal archives, and Department of the Interior findings:

1. The Verona Census Invalidation: The individuals comprising the Sacramento-Verona Band originated outside El Dorado County. Between 1916 and 1920, Department of the Interior Chief Clerk C.F. Hauke formally reviewed and invalidated the Verona census, establishing that your members had zero historical residence or geographic presence in El Dorado County prior to the modern era. Modern U.S. Census records confirm your group had no presence in El Dorado County prior to 1970.

2. The True Heirs: The true historic Aboriginal Shingle Springs Indians (the Wopumnes) are anchored exclusively by the 1905 Kelsey Census, the 1935 Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) voting electorate, and subsequent 1966 federal partition records (such as the Padilla recognition).

3. The Corporate Imposter Structure: Since the mid-1970s, your organization has squatted on remaining Rancheria lands and unlawfully usurped the sovereign name, franchise, and identity of the historic Wopumnes Tribe to operate as an unverified proxy group.
   
   

II. VIOLATIONS OF LAW

Your public performances, fraudulent parade appearances, and ongoing misrepresentations violate multiple civil and criminal statutes, including:

1. False Advertising & Consumer/Public Deception (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17500 et seq.):
   Publicly parading and marketing yourselves as the "Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians" deceives the citizens of California, event organizers, and public officials regarding your true identity, misleading the public into believing you represent the aboriginal inhabitants and historical stewards of El Dorado County.

2. Defrauding Congress & False Statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001):
   Leadership of your organization has previously provided false testimony and representations to federal authorities and the U.S. Senate (specifically during 2025 proceedings) under a hijacked aboriginal identity to secure federal recognition, grants, and administrative standing. Using this same fraudulent standing in public exhibitions compounds your federal liability.

3. Unlawful Trade Practices and Appropriation of Tribal Goodwill:
   Misappropriating the name, culture, history, and sovereign goodwill of the historic Wopumnes Tribe for public pageantry, political positioning, and the protection of an illicit multi-billion-dollar grant-laundering apparatus constitutes tortious interference and unlawful appropriation.

III. DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE COMPLIANCE

YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED TO:

1. CEASE AND DESIST IMMEDIATELY from participating in any public parades, cultural events, government meetings, or public exhibitions under the name, title, or guise of the "Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians," the Shingle Springs Rancheria, or as historic Miwok people aboriginal to El Dorado County.

2. IMMEDIATELY REMOVE all public signage, promotional materials, float displays, and digital representations falsely asserting your group's lineage as the historic Shingle Springs Miwok Tribe.

3. ISSUANCE OF PUBLIC RETRACTION: Issue a public corrective statement acknowledging that your organization is the Sacramento-Verona Band and possesses no aboriginal or historic standing as the Wopumnes / Shingle Springs Tribe of El Dorado County.
   
   

IV. CONSEQUENCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE

Failure to comply with this Cease and Desist demand immediately upon receipt will result in the prompt initiation of formal legal action. This will include, but is not limited to, filing civil lawsuits for injunctive relief, damages for unfair business practices and false advertising, and notifying federal investigators (including the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Justice) of your ongoing violations under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and related federal fraud statutes.

GOVERN YOURSELVES ACCORDINGLY.

Sincerely,
Wopumnes Nisenan and Mewuk Heritage Society 501(c)(3)
“1935 IRA Shingle Springs Indians Lineal Descendants”
info@Wopumnes.com