Woman admits theft, gets 70 days in jail
A Saipan resident who took money from several guest workers by falsely stating that she could hire them directly was sentenced to 70 days in jail after admitting the charges.
Lillian Duenas, 34, entered a plea agreement and pled guilty to one count of theft by deception and one count of criminal deception.
The Attorney General’s Office charged her with 25 counts of theft, theft by deception, criminal deception and forgery.
As part of her sentence, she was ordered to pay restitution to her victims amounting $7,306.
Assistant Attorney General Marvin J. Williams said Duenas already paid $2,705 to six of her eight victims and will pay the balance after serving her term.
Under the agreement, she won’t be eligible for parole.
Court documents showed that Duenas, while an employee of Grace International Inc. informed several guest workers that she was authorized to hire them directly for a fee.
The fee ranges from $300 to $2,555, which she collected mostly from overseas Filipino workers between July 1997 and January of 1998.
Duenas is also charged with forgery when she forged a check on the account of Grace International Inc. amounting $846.
She was ordered to pay fine of $750 and perform 250 hours of community work.
Associate Judge Timothy Bellas also placed her under probation for 20 months.
