Luis Pelisamen’s appeal was argued on Feb. 17 before Circuit Judges A. Wallace Tashima, William A. Fletcher and Marsha S. Berzon.
In a 19-page opinion penned by Tashima, the circuit judge said Pelisamen’s argument that he was wrongfully convicted due to an error during the jury trial had no merits.
“We may reverse the conviction only if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. It is true that the use of the term ‘defraud’ in the jury instructions and jury verdict form without a reference to money or property is less than ideal,” Tashima said.
“But it does not tilt the equities in favor of reversal, given how obvious it is that this is a case of pecuniary fraud,” he added.
A federal jury found Pelisamen guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of money laundering in June 2009.
He asked for a new trial but then federal court Chief Judge Alex Munson denied it.
Pelisamen then appealed his case to the Ninth Circuit, seeking for a judgment of acquittal, saying that the U.S. government presented false testimony through his former counsel, former Superior Court Judge Timothy Bellas.
Tashima said documents and testimonies were reviewed and found no sufficient evidence to support Pelisamen’s assertion.
In 2004 Pelisamen, whose grandmother Rita Kaipat died in 1959, was named administrator of her estate — the land where Marianas High School is located.
Pelisamen was initially offered $100,000 as compensation for the property.
The price, however, reached $4.4 million after the Babauta administration floated a bond to pay landowners for properties taken for different public projects.
The new price for the property was based on the prevailing real estate market price at that time and the amount received by the Kaipat estate was divided among her three heirs.
Under Pelisamen’s custody was over $1.37 million.
The Ninth Circuit noted that the defendant “ultimately was entitled to an inheritance of $54,682.”
But between December 2005 and May 2006, Pelisamen and then-estate attorney Joseph A. Arriola removed a total of $625,775 from the estate, by writing a series of checks drawn on a bank account signed by both of them.
Checks drawn included a $20,075 used to buy Pelisamen a 2005 Nissan Frontier and $219,200 for Arriola, court papers added.
In Jan. 2008, Pelisamen and Arriola were indicted for fraud.
Arriola pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is now serving his time in federal prison.
