Palms Resort’s ex-HR chief arrested

Police arrested Friday afternoon the former human resources director of Palms Resort Saipan who allegedly used her position at Palms to open a credit card account using another employee’s name.

Eva L. McKinney, 40, was apprehended for theft, theft by deception, and misuse of credit cards.

Police investigation is still ongoing whether McKinney also possibly victimized other employees of Palms Resort, Saipan Tribune learned.

At yesterday’s hearing, Superior Court associate judge Ramona V. Manglona kept the bail at $5,000 cash, as the court had earlier imposed. Manglona set the preliminary hearing for April 16 at 9am.

Detective Patrick Earl Maanao stated in his report that the Palms Resort management discovered the alleged credit card misuse when the victim, Nelly Bumanglag, received a billing statement that said she owed over a thousand dollars. Police said that McKinney would usually intercept the billing statement but on that particular day, she was off duty.

Maanao said that McKinney, as then human resources director of Palms Resort (formerly Hotel Nikko Saipan), had full access of each of the employees’ personnel file.

The defendant allegedly obtained the social security number of Bumanglag and applied for an American Express Card. McKinney used her name as the second cardholder, Maanao said.

The defendant allegedly used the hotel’s mailing address so that she could intercept Bumanglag’s billing statement before the employee gets them.

However, last March 28, Bumanglag received from her supervisor a billing statement from American Express Card. When she opened the statement, Bumanglag was surprised to see that she had accumulated charges of $1,124.52.

Investigation showed that the victim received the billing because McKinney was not on duty on the day the mail was being passed out to each of the employees, Maanao said.

Follow-up investigation showed that the amount owed on the AmEx card is actually higher than the first billing statement as a recent billing statement showed $1,193.52.

The detective said he started investigating the case Friday morning when Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division chief Maj. Edward H. Manalili informed him about the scheme.

Maanao said it was Palms Resort Saipan assistant general manager Ray de la Cruz who went to Manalili’s office a day earlier (Thursday) to report the incident.

Maanao said that on Friday he went to Palms Resort where he was informed that McKinney was terminated as of April 1, 2008, because of the incident.

The detective quoted the hotel’s general manager as saying that McKinney at first denied the allegations when he spoke to her but when the GM contacted their attorney, the defendant admitted she had applied for the credit card accessing the personal information of Bumanglag through personnel records.

Maanao said that, after interviewing de la Cruz and the general manager, he spoke to Bumanglag.

Bumanglag told him that she never applied for an American Express Card, but only a Visa. She had stopped the Visa last year. She said she never gave her consent to McKinney to apply for a credit card.

The detective said that two other employees at Human Resources both stated that McKinney was very particular about the mail coming into the office.

Maanao said the two employees stated that McKinney did not want either of them to touch or distribute mails unless she reviewed them or she tells them to pass them out.

McKinney apparently would always receive phone calls from Dial Rent-To-Own and First Hawaiian Bank at least once or twice a week.

Maanao said that after the management terminated McKinney, another staff assisted Dela Cruz in clearing out the defendant’s table last Thursday.

Maanao said Dela Cruz and the staff discovered other opened billing statements belonging to Bumanglag and other mails also belonging to another person.

The detective said he also received unopened mail belonging to Bumanglag with possibly a credit card inside.