Previous Story
Sagana pleads not guilty to license fraud charge
|
Posted on Aug 03 2022
A man who is facing federal charges in the CNMI but fled to Wisconsin has returned to Saipan for his arraignment where he pleaded not guilty before the U.S. District Court for the NMI.
Bonifacio “Boni” Sagana, 58, appeared before District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy yesterday for his arraignment.
During the hearing, Sagana, through attorney David Banes, pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiring with others to unlawfully produce a CNMI driver’s license.
Kennedy scheduled Sagana’s trial on Oct. 4.
Following the hearing, Sagana briefly told local media that he has a lot of things he wants to say in order to clear his name but for the time being, as advised by his attorney, he chooses not to make any comments.
Sagana noted that he traveled roughly three days from Wisconsin to Saipan for his arraignment. The federal court paid for Sagana’s plane ticket.
According to court documents, the U.S. District Court for the NMI issued an arrest warrant for Sagana following a grand jury indictment back on Jan. 31, on the charge of conspiring with others to unlawfully produce a CNMI driver’s license.
However, Sagana fled the CNMI before he could be arrested and was only taken into custody last May 16 in Wisconsin.
Sagana was allegedly identified by other defendants facing the same charges as the person who arranged for them to fraudulently obtain a CNMI driver’s license using a counterfeit U.S. immigration visa number.
According to documents from the Eastern District Court of Wisconsin, Sagana, a U.S. permanent resident, appeared at an initial hearing on May 16, before judge James R. Sickel.
The charge against Sagana is punishable by up to a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
