Defendant resentenced to 10 years in prison

A man who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking was resentenced in federal court on Tuesday afternoon to 120 months or 10 years in prison.

U.S. District Court for the NMI designated Judge David O. Carter gave defendant Wei Lin credit for time served.

Upon release from prison, Lin will be placed on supervised release for five years.

As part of the probation, Lin must be delivered to immigration for removal proceedings.

Carter said if deportation fails to occur and defendant is released pending further immigration proceedings, he shall immediately report to the U.S. Probation Office to begin his term of supervision.

Carter ordered Lin to pay $21,517 in restitution immediately.

Carter said in the event there is any remaining balance of restitution after defendant is sentenced, restitution must be paid during the period of supervision on an installment basis according to the collection policy of the U.S. Probation Office, but at a rate of not less than 10 percent of his monthly gross income.

The judge said payments will be remitted to the clerk of court, which shall be disbursed to the victims.

Carter waived all fines since Lin has been determined that he does not have the ability to pay.

Lin was also ordered to pay $100 in special assessment fee immediately after sentencing.

Carter granted defense counsel Benjamin Petersburg’s request for the court to recommend that Lin serve his term of imprisonment in Southern California.

Prior to the sentencing, Carter heard Lin’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea and his motion for reconsideration.

Carter denied both motions.

Assistant U.S. attorney Garth Backe appeared as counsel for the U.S. government.

Lin was accused of luring women from China to Saipan on false promises of jobs and then forcing them into prostitution once they got on the island.

In April 2012, Lin was charged with three counts of sex trafficking and one count of financially benefitting from a sex trafficking venture. The sex trafficking occurred between July 2010 and November 2010 at the Rosen Music Studio karaoke bar located on Saipan.

On June 8, 2012, Lin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.

In March 2015, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona sentenced Lin to 235 months or 19 years and seven months of imprisonment. Defendant, through then-new counsel Bruce Berline, appealed his sentence to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In November 2016, the Ninth Circuit reversed the sentence and remanded the case to the District Court for resentencing.

Lin, through new counsel Berline, filed a motion last July, requesting Manglona to disqualify herself from his case as Thomas Villagomez is the judge’s brother.

Lin implicated Thomas Villagomez as one of the alleged true organizers of prostitution conspiracy.

To avoid the perception of impartiality, Manglona granted Lin’s motion to disqualify.
Carter was then assigned to the case.