Frances Quichocho finally completed her testimony yesterday in federal court, allowing the parties in the racketeering lawsuit filed by Jung Ja Kim against Frances and her husband, attorney Ramon K. Quichocho, to rest their cases.
\nAfter Kim\u2019s counsel, attorney Colin Thompson, finished cross-examining Frances, Thompson and co-counsel Robert T. Torres called Kim back to the witness stand. After Kim\u2019s testimony, both sides rested at 3:45pm.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona instructed the jurors to return today, Wednesday, at 10am, for closing arguments.<\/p>\n
During yesterday\u2019s continuation of Thompson\u2019s cross-examination, Frances maintained that she is the sole owner of Latte Stone LLC, which used to operate the Latte Stone Poker on Rota.<\/p>\n
Kim claimed that she formed Latte Stone LLC in October 2008 upon Ramon Quichocho\u2019s advice, and had it registered under Frances\u2019 name.<\/p>\n
When shown a copy of Latte Stone\u2019s tax return where Frances apparently underreported its total revenue, Frances said she was just following the figures that Kim provided her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI followed what Kim taught me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Frances agreed with Thompson that Latte Stone\u2019s gross revenue was $690,000, but only $339,000 was deposited in the company\u2019s bank account.<\/p>\n
She said a lot of cash was taken from the company for business and personal expenses. She said she\u2019s unsure how much was pulled out for personal expenses.<\/p>\n
Frances said she reimbursed Kim for her expenses at Latte Stone whenever she received receipts from her.<\/p>\n
When shown several checks, including $40,000, that were deposited either to her personal bank account or her joint account with her husband, Frances could not remember the source of the money\u2014whether they came from Latte Stone or from her husband\u2019s law firm.<\/p>\n
Thompson also showed three checks totaling $31,000 that were deposited into the couple\u2019s joint account three days in a row. Frances said she does not remember the source of the income, whether from Latte Stone or from the law firm.<\/p>\n
Frances admitted that she took money from Latte Stone and donated them to close friends and relatives.<\/p>\n
She said she was not sure whether she paid her daughter\u2019s tuition out of Latte Stone\u2019s account. Thompson then presented several checks that Frances paid for her daughter for tuition out of Latte Stone\u2019s account. She then admitted the payments.<\/p>\n
Frances also admitted she paid all their phone billings and the salary of their then-houseworker out of Latte Stone\u2019s account. She acknowledged donating money to Rep. Janet Maratita (Cov-Saipan), Felipe Atalig, and several others as donations or gifts out of Latte Stone\u2019s account.<\/p>\n
Frances admitted, among other payments, that she paid her personal loan at Isla Financial Service out of Latte Stone\u2019s account.<\/p>\n
Frances reiterated her earlier testimony that she deceived Kim by pretending to be Ramon Quichocho in the chats to figure out whether her husband and Kim were having an affair.<\/p>\n
On attorney Michael Dotts\u2019 questioning, Frances said she paid $50,000 check to Kim for Latte Stone\u2019s five poker machines and then $50,000 cash for the other five poker machines.<\/p>\n
Dotts is counsel for Frances and the Quichocho law firm.<\/p>\n
Frances said that Kim was supposed to be reimbursed for her $168,000 contribution to Tan Dingo LLC, but she did not confirm her membership and kept the revenues of the company.<\/p>\n
Kim claimed that she purchased in April 2008 Tan Dingo LLC that the Quichochos and Joaquin Atalig formed. The company also operated a poker business.<\/p>\n
Kim testified that when Frances and Ramon Quichocho returned from their \u201creconciliation trip\u201d in the Philippines in February 2009, Ramon Quichocho did not stop communicating with her.<\/p>\n
Torres showed her a copy of a long chat dated Feb. 20, 2009. Kim recognized it as Ramon Quichocho\u2019s chat with her after the Philippine trip. In that chat, Kim said Ramon Quichocho stated, among other things, that he loves her and misses her.<\/p>\n
On the harassment allegations that the Quichochos complained about, Kim admitted she installed a surveillance camera on the second floor of her leased building to protect her assets and that she actually saw, through the surveillance camera, that it was Frances who was breaking the flower plots by kicking them near the stairs.<\/p>\n
Torres asked Kim if the Quichochos ever told her that she was interfering in their marital relationship and she replied \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the one who got harmed. I was harmed emotionally and financially. Ray and Frances shattered my trust,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n
Dotts showed chats between Kim and Ramon Quichocho dated Dec. 11, 2008, a day after Ramon allegedly raped her in his apartment unit. Dotts pointed out that in that chat Kim was laughing with her \u201crapist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it\u2019s correct,\u201d said Kim, and disclosed that after that rape incident, she and Ramon Quichocho actually proceeded to Godfather\u2019s that night for some drinks, then they had consensual sex.<\/p>\n
Kim earlier also testified that Ramon Quichocho raped her at a Guam hotel and had consensual sex with him in his car, and that she and the Quichochos had a threesome twice.<\/p>\n
Ramon Quichocho denies having sex with Kim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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