9 year in prison for SU founder

The U.S. District Court yesterday sentenced Saipan University founder Park Soon Kyung to nine years and one month imprisonment for defrauding at least 88 students whom he recruited from China in 2003.

Chief Judge Alex R. Munson also directed Park to indemnify the 88 students in the total amount of $567,432, declaring lump sum payments to be due immediately. The amounts payable to each student range from $5,450 to $10,700 and represent the total amounts of losses they incurred from transacting with Park, who is known to them as Piao Cun Jing.

The judge also forfeited monies contained in three bank accounts in favor of the U.S. government. The monies, considered proceeds from the fraud Park was convicted of, include two bank accounts in the names of Tinian University and Saipan University and deposited at the Bank of Guam, and another account in the name of SU president Jesus I. Taisague and deposited at the Bank of Hawaii.

The judge imposed a slightly higher sentence than the nine-year imprisonment term recommended by federal prosecutors Patrick Smith and Timothy Moran. He remanded Park to the custody of the U.S. Marshal in yesterday’s sentencing proceeding.

Munson ruled, however, that Park’s three 109-month prison terms be served concurrently, giving credit to the time the defendant had already served in jail. The three prison terms pertain to each of three “interstate and foreign transportation of persons in execution of a scheme to defraud” charges that Park was convicted of in September last year.

Munson also ordered that Park be placed under three years of supervised release and that he be made to undergo deportation proceedings.

“As a further condition of supervised release, if ordered deported, the defendant shall remain outside and shall not re-enter the United States without the permission of the U.S. attorney general,” the judge said.

“If deportation fails to occur and the defendant is pending further immigration proceedings, he shall immediately report to the U.S. Probation Office to begin his term of supervised release,” Munson added.

While on supervised release, Park shall perform 300 hours of community service. The judge also ordered Park to permit the probation officer to access any of his financial documents.

A jury convicted Park in early September last year after a trial that lasted 10 days. Prosecutors charged Park, founder and director of the defunct university, for engaging in schemes that defrauded Chinese students concerning the nature of SU’s course offerings and the students’ chances of getting jobs while studying in the CNMI so he could obtain tuition and fees from them. CNMI laws prohibit the employment of foreign students.

Evidence presented in court during the trial showed that Park misrepresented to the students that SU had more than 20 degree programs when the fledgling institution was only allowed to provide non-credit courses such as conversational English, writing, and computer laboratory.

Evidence also showed that Park misled the students into believing that SU was equipped with modern facilities such as computer rooms, a golf course, and a restaurant. Upon arriving on Saipan, SU students complained of rundown facilities, poor living conditions, and lack of water and power, among others.

Park brought in 53 students from the People’s Republic of China to the CNMI “for a work-study program” on Sept. 8, 2003. He brought in eight more on Sept. 27 and an additional 35 on Oct. 5 during the same year.

Investigation on Park’s activities began that year, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation filing a complaint with Saipan’s federal court in December. Park turned himself over to the FBI on Guam on Dec. 16, 2003 after the court issued a warrant for his arrest.