Sen Sun pleads guilty

An overstaying Chinese tourist indicted in federal court for allegedly operating an unlicensed business that offered trip packages to pregnant Chinese women seeking to give birth here pleaded guilty in Superior Court on Friday.

Sen Sun, also known as Sam Sun, signed a plea deal with the U.S. government and pleaded guilty to harboring illegal aliens. The offense carries a maximum penalty of not more than five years of imprisonment, a fine of not more than $250,000, probation of not more than five years, and a $1,000 special assessment.

Sun will be sentenced on March 30, 2018.

With the guilty plea, Sun’s jury trial set for January 2018 and the motion hearing were vacated.

After the hearing, Sun was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal.

In exchange for his guilty plea, the U.S. government will agree to dismiss the remaining two charges and recommend a sentence at the middle or lower end of the applicable sentencing guidelines range.

Under the plea deal, the imposition of probation, any fine, restitution, conditions of probation, and other aspects of the sentence will be at the court’s discretion.

Assistant U.S. attorney Eric O’Malley said that between Jan. 1, 2017, and Nov. 3, 2017, Sun operated an unregistered, and illegal business operation that arranged travel, medical, and other services to pregnant foreign citizens seeking to give birth in the NMI.

O’Malley said that each of Sun’s clients paid upward of $15,000 for this service that includes a full-time assistant or nanny—the 15 alien workers—who would, among other things, cook, clean, and provide basic care for Sun’s clients.

Sun employed the 15 workers even if they were not authorized to work here.

O’Malley said the workers lived with Sun’s clients in apartments and other accommodations paid for by Sun via his illegal business operation.

The prosecutor said that despite knowing that the workers had entered or remaining unlawfully in the U.S., Sun concealed them from detection. O’Malley said Sun’s profited by employing the workers.

The indictment charged Sun with harboring illegal aliens, unlawfully employing aliens, and money laundering.

When asked by U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona if everything that O’Malley stated in court is true, Sun agreed but clarified that he got only a portion of the $15,000 each from the clients as the amount paid for many services.