Designated federal court Judge Robert Naraja ordered the detention “at this time” of Heqian Ma, describing her as a flight risk.
Ma appeared with an interpreter while Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Benedetto appeared for the federal government.
Ma was charged with two counts of encouraging an alien to come to the United States.
The court scheduled Ma’s detention hearing for Monday.
The court also found Ma to be indigent and appointed a defense lawyer for her.
Ma was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after the hearing.
In his affidavit, ICE special agent Isra D. Harahap said the victims, Weifeng Guo and Yuyan Li, who are both Chinese nationals, reported to the Homeland Security Investigations office on Saipan on Feb. 3, 2011 that they were defrauded by Ma to come to Saipan from China to work at a massage shop.
The victims told ICE agents that they wanted to work overseas as massage therapists. They were recruited by an individual to work as massage therapists in Australia.
But three months after paying 30,000 Chinese yuan, or $4,500, the victims were told that the jobs in Australia were not available but they could go to Saipan and work here instead.
The recruiter told Weifing Guo he could make between 5,000 to 8,000 Chinese yuan, or $766 to $1,226 per month, and Yuyan Li could make between 10,000 to 15,000 Chinese yuan, or $1,532 to $2,299 on Saipan.
Heqian Ma was identified as the employment recruiter on Saipan, Harahap said.
On Dec. 10, 2010, the recruiter in China gave the victims two notarized invitation letters from Mini Corp. in Tinian. The victims were also given their electronic tickets to Saipan.
On Dec. 11, 2010, the victims sent $850 to Heqian Ma on Tinian, Harahap said.
The victims were invited to come to Tinian “to see if they were interested to invest in the company,” Harahap said.
When contacted, Heqian Ma told Weifing Guo that they had to pay her $2,150 in “sponsor fee” when they arrived on Saipan.
The defendant also told the victims that if they were stopped by a U.S. immigration or customs officer, “they should say they were tourists visiting Saipan.”
On Dec. 16, 2010, the victims arrived on Saipan. When asked by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, Weifing Guo responded that he was not going to work in Saipan.
The officer warned the victims that they would be arrested once they work on island.
After meeting outside the Saipan international airport, Heqian Ma told the victims to not mind the warning made by the CBP officer.
On Dec. 17, 2010, the victims were brought to a massage shop in the San Antonio area on Saipan, Harahap said.
The couple declined to accept the job offer — the husband could work at a supermarket, while the wife would undergo training before she could start working as a masseuse.
On Jan. 25, 2011, the victims were able to contact Heqian Ma, already on Tinian, and asked for a refund.
Heqian Ma denied getting any money from the victims, Harahap said.
