Cesar Caballero. Photo from Facebook

A Miwok man who has been engaged in a long-running battle with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians has been convicted a second time in the case.

In August 2011, Cesar Caballero, 46, was convicted in of three counts of obstruction of mail. A jury found him guilty of diverting the California tribe's mail to himself.

Caballero was subsequently sentenced to 90 days for the crime. But he took the case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and won a July 2014 decision that resulted in the dismissal of one of the three counts against him.

As a result, Caballero was re-sentenced to 60 days but authorities said he never turned himself in. So he was charged with failing to surrender and was found guilty on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.

Caballero now faces a maximum of one year in prison, according to the office. That's far longer than the sentence he was supposed to have served.

Caballero's battle stems over his claim that he represents the rightful Shingle Springs Band. Although he isn't enrolled in the tribe, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has confirmed that he is a Miwok descendant.

In addition to diverting the tribe's mail, Caballero registered several trademarks that made it appear as if he was in charge of the tribe's affairs, including its gaming facility, the Red Hawk Casino. He also developed a website in one of the tribe's names.

The tribe won a decision that barred Caballero from using the names and the website but the 9th Circuit reversed. In a November 19, 2015, decision, the a three-judge panel of the court said the tribe had the burden of proving its case but failed to do so.

The court sent the dispute back to a federal judge for further proceedings. Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Shingle Springs of Miwok Indians v. Caballeros.

Get the Story:
Man convicted for failing to surrender in tribal mail case (The Sacramento Bee 4/28)

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Man sentenced for trying to divert Shingle Springs Band mail (5/1)
Man convicted for trying to divert Shingle Springs Band mail (8/31)