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3rd defendant in license scam gets 3-month sentence
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Posted on Nov 30 2011
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona yesterday imposed a three-month prison term on one of the five defendants in the driver’s license scam case.
After serving the three-month sentence, defendant Hui Qiang Yan will be placed on three months of supervised release. The 48-year-old Yan was also required to pay a $100 court assessment fee and perform 50 hours of community work service.
Yan will remain out on bail until a federal detention facility is designated for him.
Manglona said she disagrees with the defendant’s counsel Stephen Woodruff’s position that Yan was less culpable than co-defendant Tahira Miah.
Manglona said that Yan was involved in dealing with 20 individuals whereas Miah only participated in the transaction with two or three persons.
The judge said imposing a prison term on Yan is appropriate, not only for the seriousness of the crime but also for the harm or the potential harm he would do to the community.
Assistant U.S. attorney Garth Backe recommended a sentence of two years probation, while Woodruff recommended one year probation.
Yan and the four other co-defendants pleaded guilty to a count that charged them with conspiracy to unlawfully produce and transfer an identification document.
Last week, Manglona slapped a six-month prison term on another defendant, William A. Hocog, a former supervisor at the Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Motor Vehicle, who pleaded guilty for his role in the driver’s license scam.
Last Nov. 4, Manglona imposed a two-year probation sentence on Tahira Miah.
The other co-defendants are Mohammad Jahangir Miah, and Hongmei Sun.
According to the prosecution, from April 16 to June 18, 2010, the five conspired to unlawfully produce and transfer CNMI driver’s licenses.
Sun and Yan introduced foreign nationals as driver’s license applicants to the Miah couple in order for the applicants to obtain a driver’s license unlawfully with the help of Hocog, then a supervisor at BMV.
The applicants were each required to pay between $230 and $400 directly to Sun and Yan in order to receive the driver’s license. (Ferdie de la Torre)
