Ex-BMV chief faces possible 60-month sentence

Former Department of Public Safety Bureau of Motor Vehicles director Juana Deleon Guerrero faces a possible incarceration of 60 months or about five years, based on the recommendation of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In the sentencing recommendation assistant U.S. Attorney Albert S. Flores Jr. filed with the U.S. District Court for the NMI, he is proposing a 60-month prison sentence for Deleon Guerrero, who is set to be sentenced on Dec. 15.

Deleon Guerrero pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully

Deleon Guerrero’s lawyer, Robert Torres, has proposed a sentence of 36 months or three years.

“A term of 36 months [is a] sufficient sentence and one which is no greater than necessary to achieve the ends of justice,” he said.

According to Flores, the U.S. government recommends that Deleon Guerrero be sentenced to 60 months in prison and be penalized $15,000 because of the public harm caused by her crime.

He acknowledged that his office’s recommended sentence is above the incarceration guideline range reflected in the Final Presentence Investigation Report.

Based on the guidelines, Deleon Guerrero’s crime would be placed at a total offense level of 20 with a criminal history category of I, resulting in a range of 33-34 months incarceration. However, Flores argues that the public harm made the crime worse.

“A sentence above the guideline range is warranted in defendant’s case, because the public harm caused by defendant is practically impossible to quantify,” he said.

Flores added that Deleon Guerrero’s actions endangered public safety by authorizing unqualified drivers to drive.

“As the long-standing chief of the BMV, and former acting commissioner of the CNMI Department of Public Safety (defendant was serving as the acting DPS commissioner when the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at the BMV on Dec. 16, 2022), or in other words, the senior law enforcement officer of the CNMI, defendant was entrusted to serve in her position as a leader and enforcer of the law. Instead, she fostered an environment of systemic corruption, her actions endangered public safety by arming unqualified drivers to operate vehicles on the roadways, and she grossly violated the trust of the public which damaged the credibility of the CNMI government. Tragically, it will be a long road for the people of the CNMI to regain the trust of the CNMI BMV,” he said.

Torres argues that sentencing guidelines calculations by the Probation Office establish a guideline range of 33-41 months using U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which is enhanced guideline range due to the number of driver’s licenses involved.

“Even if sustained, the Probation Office also considered and included enhancements for abusing a position of public trust and for being an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that was extensive and/or involved five or more participants. A sentence of 36 months is the mid-point of the guideline sentencing range,” he said.

According to the unsealed information, from about Jan. 1, 2020, through about Dec. 20, 2022, on at least 50 occasions, Deleon Guerrero conspired with Li Yongde, or “Ivan,” fellow BMV employees, residents of the CNMI without lawful immigration status, and others, to produce CNMI driver licenses for 10 individuals without valid and current legal immigration status.

Specifically, Deleon Guerrero knowingly permitted Ivan, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China without lawful immigration status, to bring other citizens of the PRC and of other nationalities without lawful immigration status to the BMV, where those foreign citizens were subsequently issued fraudulent CNMI driver licenses.

Ivan allegedly charged these individuals around $1,500 to $1,700 for a new license and around $300 to $400 for a renewal license.

Ivan would accept payments from foreign citizens and bring them to the BMV where they would meet with BMV staff, including Deleon Guerrero.

Juana Deleon Guerrero