By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
PERFECTLY Set jewelry store owners Wilfredo Ching and Violeta Centeno are asking a federal court to hold a hearing that would allow them to inspect confiscated jewelry and identify pieces they say were never paid for in a case involving former Public School System employee Giselle Butalid and her mother, Clarissa Adlawan.
Federal prosecutors are seeking to forfeit $262,788 and luxury goods from Butalid and Adlawan, who admitted to siphoning public funds and laundering the proceeds through transactions that reached the Philippines.
Last November, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands asked the District Court for the NMI to enter a money judgment and preliminary forfeiture order against the pair. Both previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy tied to fraudulent procurements and the concealment of funds through structured and international transfers.
Ching and Centeno said the government’s bill of particulars for forfeiture of property lists the confiscated items, but their concern is limited to “unpaid pieces of jewelry, which are possibly among those confiscated.”
They are asking the court to allow an ocular inspection “to have [the jewelry] accurately described in accordance with our ledger list, including carats, color, weight, available photographs, and the type of precious metals and stones.”
“Only through this ocular comparison could an honest determination be attained,” they wrote. “Without this procedure, we cannot submit a complete list of jewelry for this petition. Our ledger listing…will be our basis of identification.”
If the court approves the inspection, the shop owners said they will bring a digital jewelry scale, a diamond tester, and a goldsmith to appraise the items.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona on Thursday deferred ruling on the petition but ordered the petitioners to file a certified supplemental statement by April 16.
Judge Manglona previously issued a preliminary forfeiture money judgment of $262,788 against the defendants.
Adlawan, through attorney Mark Scoggins, said she does not object to the forfeiture order but disputes the $59,300 claim by the jewelry store owners. Scoggins argued that some property listed is not traceable to the offense, including heirloom jewelry Adlawan received years earlier. He cited a pearl necklace once appraised in the Philippines at more than $40,000.
Adlawan agreed such items could be treated as substitute property under her plea agreement but asked to retain one piece: a lady’s Omega watch gifted by her late husband on their 19th wedding anniversary in 2010.
Regarding the jewelry store’s claim, Scoggins said Adlawan disputes it.
“Ms. Adlawan did not make any agreement to sell jewelry by consignment,” he said. “She purchased jewelry from Ms. Violeta Centeno and paid for most of it.”
Prosecutors said the defendants used One Legacy LLC to stage fake purchases of educational materials between October 2021 and August 2022, submitting falsified documents and forged signatures to obtain payments from PSS. Transactions ranged from $23,242.50 to $113,020, laundering at least $262,788.
Because PSS received more than $10,000 in federal grants during that period, the case falls under federal jurisdiction.
Investigators said the scheme funded luxury handbags and jewelry seized during an Aug. 15 search.
Butalid and Adlawan pleaded guilty in October. Prosecutors argue their admissions establish a nexus between the offenses and the assets targeted for forfeiture.
The U.S. government’s bill of particulars lists more than 100 items of gold and silver jewelry, along with high-end watches, belts, bags, wallets, shoes, and slides. If granted, the preliminary order would allow prosecutors to seize the property and begin ancillary proceedings to resolve third-party claims.
Ching and Centeno, officers of Enhance Pacific Corp., which operates as Perfectly Set, filed a $59,300 claim seeking recovery of items seized from Adlawan. They said many of the pieces had been consigned to her for resale and that she left an unpaid balance supported by ledgers and postdated checks from One Legacy LLC.
The store owners argue Adlawan never established ownership of most of the seized items and asked the court to recognize their claim.
The federal court has scheduled a restitution and sentencing hearing for May 6 at 9 a.m.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
