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9-month sentence sought for ex-CRM official
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Posted on Jan 12 2012
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
U.S. Probation has recommended a nine-month prison sentence against former Coastal Resources Management official Benny K. Pangelinan for violating his supervised release conditions.
U.S. District Court for the NMI visiting judge David O. Carter had found Pangelinan in violation of two conditions of his probation. A hearing will be held today on the U.S. government’s motion to revoke Pangelinan’s probation.
In Monday’s hearing, Carter determined that Pangelinan violated a special condition that requires him not to commit any federal, state, or local crimes. Pangelinan was also found in violation of a standard condition that requires him to answer truthfully to all questions by a probation officer and follow the officer’s instructions.
Carter said that today’s hearing will tackle restitution for victims who testified in court, reiterating the condition of no access to the Internet, staying away order from the victims, and the location of Pangelinan’s jail facility and what medical treatment is available for him.
A federal jury had found Pangelinan guilty of five wire fraud charges in January 2007, for defrauding potential investors and his involvement in several Internet scams. He was sentenced to three years and a month in prison and ordered to pay $129,250 in restitution to five victims. After serving his sentence, he was placed on three years of supervised release.
In September last year, the U.S. Probation Office had filed a petition to revoke his supervised release for violating his probation conditions. Probation Officer Gregory Arriola said that Pangelinan borrowed a total of $21,450 from a couple and received over $11,000 from a family member, with promises to both that he will double their money.
Arriola said that they caught Pangelinan sending money through wire to a person he claimed to be his girlfriend in Australia whom he met only in the Internet.
Attorney Steven Pixley is the court-appointed counsel for Pangelinan. Assistant U.S. attorney Garth Backe is representing the U.S. government in the case.
