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Jury deliberations in Ada case enter 3rd day
A federal jury will resume today, Friday, their deliberations on whether Leyda I. Ada is guilty or not as to the conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, and perjury.
The jurors resumed their deliberations yesterday, but did not reach a verdict. They began their deliberations on Wednesday afternoon.
At Wednesday’s closing arguments, assistant U.S. attorney Garth Backe said the key issue in this case is Ada’s knowledge in her husband Melvin’s scheme to perpetrate healthcare fraud exceeding $1.7 million.
Defense attorney Mark Hanson said in this case, since Ada is the wife of Melvin, she got to be guilty.
Hanson said no person, even Ada, knew that Melvin was stealing close to $2 million from Finance, through the Commonwealth Health Center.
The prosecution called a total of 31 witnesses in the trial that began last June 1.
The defense called three witnesses.
Ada used to be a sales representative for Midwest Medical Supply Co. Inc., a Missouri-based company that had supplied dialysis consumables and equipment to CHC.
The original indictment charged the Ada couple with 59 counts.
Melvin is a former employee of the Commonwealth Health Center. He pleaded guilty to 56 charges for misappropriating and diverting CNMI Treasury checks made payable to a medical supplier company totaling over $1.7 million. He is awaiting his sentencing.
