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Case against alleged Miah conspirator dismissed
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Posted on Jun 07 2012
The case against one of the suspects in a conspiracy to cash fraudulent CNMI tax refund checks in grocery stores was dismissed yesterday after issues arose about the prosecution’s ability to prove its case against the suspect.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona dismissed without prejudice the case against Cecilia Blas, reportedly the girlfriend of alleged mastermind Mohammad Jahangir Miah. Dismissal without prejudice means the U.S. government can refile the case in the future.
The judge ordered the release of Blas’ passport and unsecured bond.
Manglona issued the dismissal after assistant U.S. attorney Stephen F. Leon Guerrero, counsel for the U.S. government, and attorney Mark Hanson, counsel for Blas, agreed to the dismissal.
Leon Guerrero said that issues have arisen that call into question whether the U.S. government can prove its case against Blas beyond reasonable doubt.
The original indictment had charged Miah, Eric C. Mirano, and Blas with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to the indictment, Miah would buy a “stale” tax refund check from a co-conspirator who had stolen the check from the Department of Finance. Miah and other persons would then remove the name of the true payee and put in its place a name of their own choosing, such as that of Mirano.
Blas and a fraudulent payee, such as Mirano, would then cash the check at a grocery store.
