Man hired as CUC manager had been fired by ex-employer

David P. Preston, who was hired by the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. last year but left Saipan and never came back after working for only six days and getting an advance of $15,504, was actually terminated by his previous employer, according to unsealed court papers.

The indictment, which charged Preston with four counts of wire fraud, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the NMI on Sept. 15, 2011.

Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona unsealed the case yesterday after the U.S. government notified the court that Preston had already been arrested in Texas on Oct. 4, 2011, and that there is no further reason for the proceedings to remain silent.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick A. Black stated in the indictment that Preston misrepresented his prior employment history when he applied for the job as CUC’s Drinking Water and Wastewater Division manager for $75,000 a year.

Black said that Preston falsely stated in his employment application to CUC that he had not been fired for any reason in the last five years.

Preston allegedly lied that he left the DZSP-21 company, where he claimed to have been employed from December 2006 to November 2008, after his contract ended.

Black said that Preston had in fact been terminated from DZSP-21 on Oct. 7, 2008, effective immediately, “due to lack of improvement in his management/leadership skills and particularly ethical deportment.”

Black said that CUC relied on this false information and hired Preston.

“Had the CUC known that [Preston] provided false information on his employment application, the defendant would not have been offered the job based on the application alone and serious additional inquiry would have been conducted,” Black said.

CUC then spent about $28,000 for Preston’s salary, flights, and moving expenses, he added.

As part of the scheme to defraud CUC, Black said, the defendant directed CUC to send him funds for his travel and moving expenses and for the airline tickets for himself and his family members.

About $8,500 was sent to Preston’s account with First Hawaiian Bank on Dec. 15, 2010, followed by $7,004 on Dec. 17, 2010.

Preston further advised CUC that he prefers to purchase his airline tickets from his MasterCard so that he could gain both miles and family air ticket purchase mileage on this debit card.

“In fact the defendant had plans to convert these sums of money to his own purposes that had nothing to do with his flight purchase or his moving expenses,” Black said.

The four counts of wire fraud were allegedly committed when Preston sent a fax transmission of his application to CUC on Aug. 10, 2010; his email to a CUC staff requesting fund transfer on Dec. 15, 2010; and the wire transfer of funds from CUC to his bank account in the amount of $8,500 and $7,004 on Dec. 15 and 17, 2010.

CUC has a pending lawsuit in the Superior Court against Preston to recover $28,155.85 in total damages that CUC incurred to hire the defendant.