Man in wire fraud sentenced, then freed

U.S. District Judge Alex R. Munson meted out imprisonment of six months and one day to an African man convicted on a wire fraud charge, but freed him a few hours later as he had served out the jail term while in detention awaiting his sentencing date.

Andre Didier Tella, a citizen of the west central African nation of Cameroon, expressed remorse for committing the crime that stemmed from a dollar counterfeiting scheme on Saipan.

“I am sorry and I just want to go home,” he said through his French interpreter at yesterday’s sentencing.

The 31-year-old tourist pled guilty last September to the single-count information filed by federal prosecutors following his arrest by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for defrauding a Saipan-based Chinese businessman.

Mr. Tella arrived here on April 4 on a visitor’s visa, but was arrested a month later just before he was scheduled to depart when authorities uncovered the plot.

He had since been held in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Office and had been jailed at its facility on Guam for the last six months, although he was on Saipan during times that he had to appear in court.

Yesterday was his 186th day in detention, prompting Judge Munson to hand down the same jail term even though his offense level required only six months or 185 days in prison, which was determined largely due to the plea agreement.

He said the court can advise the defendant to withdraw his plea and proceed to trial, a recommendation that he declined through his court-appointed lawyer Bruce Berline.

“I don’t think the six-month imprisonment is appropriate for the crime. I really think it should be higher but because of the plea agreement,” said Judge Munson. 

Beside releasing him from custody, the judge ordered Mr. Tella to return the $30,000 he took from Shi Ching Ke that will temporarily be deposited with the clerk of court until a determination is made as to its ownership. Mr. Berline said his client has agreed to give back the money.

Judge Munson likewise asked him to pay a fine of $8,648.10, from which the $100 in assessment fee and airfare of $2,240 for his return trip to Cameron will be deducted.

Mr. Tella was also placed under three years of supervised release and could face deportation proceeding, according to the judgment.

Based on court documents, he admitted to collecting money from Mr. Ke, owner of Mickies Bar, to counterfeit $100 dollar bills through a chemical process that he and another suspect, Sylvester Etah, presented to him.

The businessman then handed over $130,000 to the two in exchange for $300,000 in fake hundred dollar bills that the two supposedly would manufacture, the complaint said.

FBI agents recovered $39,000 in U.S. currency, several chemicals and other miscellaneous products during a search at Mr. Tella’s rented room in Paradise Hotel last May.

The wire fraud charge, a felony, carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment if convicted by a jury.