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Woman in job scam gets 6 months in prison
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Posted on Mar 28 2012
The federal court imposed yesterday a six-month prison term on a woman who was convicted of engaging in a fraudulent scheme to entice Chinese nationals to come to the CNMI to work in non-existing jobs.
Heqian Ma was given credit for the 113 days she has already spent in jail. Upon release from prison, she will be placed on one year of supervised release.
One of the conditions of supervised release is that Ma shall report to an immigration official for removal proceedings.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona required her to pay restitution in the amount of $3,010, to be divided by victims Weifeng Guo and Yuyan Li. Ma was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment fee.
At the hearing, assistant U.S. attorney Ross Naughton moved for the downward departure of Ma’s sentence.
Court-appointed counsel Michael Evangelista recommended that his client be sentenced to time already served.
Ma pleaded guilty in September 2011 to two counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. government.
According to the indictment, on Dec. 16, 2010, Ma enticed Chinese couple Weifeng Guo and Yujan Li to come and reside in the CNMI, knowing that their entering would be in violation of law.
Ma recruited the couple in China for non-existent jobs in the CNMI, according to the prosecution.
