Superior Court grants continuance in Parole chief fraud case

Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio yesterday granted a continuance in the high-profile fraud case against Parole chief Nick Reyes and his co-defendant Chuilian Fu at the Guma Hustisia in Susupe.

The CNMI Supreme Court granted the continuance following a series of legal maneuvers, one of which addresses potential conflicts of interest among the defense attorneys.

Reyes is represented by Joaquin DLG Torres, while Anthony Aguon is the counsel for Fu.

The “newly discovered conflict of interest” involves defense attorneys Torres and Aguon, who represent former governor Ralph DLG Torres in a separate case. Assistant attorney general James Kingman highlighted that the Commonwealth views this as an unwaivable conflict of interest and has brought it to the court’s attention.

Kingman presented evidence, including purchase orders and invoices, showing connections between Fu and former governor Torres. One such document is a purchase order approved by then governor Torres for four 20-foot containers, paid to F&S Corp., a tailoring company owned by Fu. Another involved payments for 350 hats for the Department of Public Safety, again approved by Torres, with payments just under the $10,000 threshold that requires competitive bidding.

“The exhibits indicate how pervasive this pattern was, with payments from the CNMI to F&S Corp.,” Kingman noted. He also cited a letter from Reyes to Fu claiming F&S Corp. was paid “by mistake” for a structure built by parolees, suggesting there was no mistake.

Upon request of the defense and with no opposition from the CNMI government, a continuance of the case was confirmed, and Kim-Tenorio set the jury date that was originally set for July 15, 2024 to Jan. 13, 2025.

Kingman earlier detailed the scope of Reyes and Fu’s alleged fraud in a court filing.

“The invoice that led to the payment in this case to F&S Corp., and then converted to cash, was not a one-off example of misappropriation of public money or procurement fraud,”

Kingman added, “It was part of a years-long scheme where F&S received payments for hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Governor’s Office and ARPA funds for projects that never existed, were completed by others, or for items that were never delivered.”

ARPA stands for American Rescue Plan Act.

Reyes and Fu face charges including conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, conspiracy to commit theft by deception, and theft by deception. Both have pled not guilty.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, on or about Oct. 4, 2022, Reyes and Fu conspired to deceive by claiming F&S Corp. constructed a patio at the Parole Office for $9,997.80, while parolees under Reyes’ direction built the patio without compensation.