UMDA official asks court to dismiss ‘baseless claim’

Jose Lifoifoi, chairman of the United Micronesia Development Association, through his attorneys David Lujan and Edward Arriola, filed a motion in the CNMI Superior Court yesterday to dismiss claims filed against him and other UMDA directors by companies affiliated with Robert Pfaff and John Larson.

Robert Pfaff and John Larson are convicted felons who UMDA brought suit against in 2007. Pfaff is facing another criminal trial in New York later this year under a second indictment for misusing UMDA accounts and assets for personal gain.

Lifoifoi, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, stated, “I’m outraged by the obvious tactics of these convicted criminals to smear me and my fellow directors. The claims against me and the other UMDA directors are totally false. They accuse us of the embezzling money that we deposited with the court to decide who is entitled to it. They know where the money is and that it is even earning interest pending the Court’s decision!”

Lifoifoi explained, “After UMDA filed this suit, the defendants launched what they called an ‘assault on Saipan’ to secretly remove $5 millions from accounts here in Saipan. We stopped them, got an injunction, and placed the money in court-controlled accounts. Now defendants have the nerve to sue us and say that we stole it because we kept them from taking the money and fleeing Saipan. If we allowed them to do that I doubt that we would ever see them or the money again. The money is now safe and secure in a court-controlled account. I know that the court and the people of the Commonwealth will see the attacks by the defendants for what they are—harassment and defamation of me and my fellow directors.”

Lifoifoi continued, “ I have spent my entire life serving the people of the Commonwealth. There is nothing more important to me than my reputation in my home. These people know that, and even though they are trying to scare me by threatening to ruin my reputation, I will not be intimidated from doing the right thing for the benefit of the shareholders of UMDA. It is my duty and responsibility.”

UMDA, founded in 1966 in Saipan, has been involved in a wide range of businesses, including airlines, cable systems, shipping, and resort properties. UMDA’s shareholders include the government or governmental entities of the CNMI, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and thousands of individual Micronesians and their families.[B][I] (UMDA)[/I][/B]