Man convicted for illegal recruitment
After a week-long trial, a 12-member jury gathered by the U.S. District Court in the NMI found Bin Ru Chen guilty of committing fraud to lure Chinese workers into the Commonwealth.
Bin was convicted of five counts of fraudulently obtaining and possessing identification documents, one charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud with fraudulent ID cars, and one charge of committing mail fraud with fraudulent ID cards in affecting interstate or foreign commerce.
A mainland Chinese businessman, Bin was the president of CWM Construction Company responsible for recruiting more than 40 Chinese workers into the CNMI, promising them high-paying jobs and longer stay.
However, Bin failed to provide employment and pay workers despite charging exorbitant fees.
Assistant United States Attorney David T. Wood was responsible for prosecuting the case. He credits the conviction to the well-managed team work between federal and local law enforcement agencies.
“This case would have been extremely difficult to prosecute had not the CNMI administration arranged time for CNMI Chief Investigator Philip G. Goodwin to participate with FBISA Andrea G. Goodwin as a co-case agent at trial,” Wood stated.
The interagency FBI-CNMI task force was responsible for conducting the investigation which led to Bin’s conviction.
