The United States Courthouse in Gualo Rai, Saipan.
A FEDERAL jury on Friday found Hongjiang Yang and Meifang Weng guilty of transporting illegal aliens by boat to Guam, but found co-defendant Xiulan Huang not guilty.
The three defendants were each charged with conspiracy and aiding and abetting transportation of illegal aliens. Each defendant was also charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States.
The federal jury foreman, Jill Pladevega, told Variety on Sunday that “there was a lot of information on the [jury] instructions that discussed many scenarios that might seem very straightforward to us … but that are actually not. We learned a lot and it was a great experience to hear from every juror ….”
As for the verdict on Huang, Pladevega said: “Yes, she did go on the boat. There just wasn’t enough evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that she had done all that she was being charged with.”
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District for the NMI scheduled Yang and Weng’s sentencing for March 14, 2025 at 9 a.m.
Judge Manglona also discharged Huang from the proceedings and ordered the return of her travel documents.
Yang and Weng, without objections from the attorneys, were allowed to remain released and were ordered to abide by the previous imposed terms and conditions.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric O’Malley and Garth Backe appeared for the federal government.
Defense attorneys Richard Miller, Cong Nie and Mark Hanson represented Yang, Weng, and Huang, respectively.
Earlier, through their respective court-appointed attorneys, the defendants requested the court to dismiss the superseding indictment, saying it “does not allege that each defendant was more than a mere passenger and intended to further the illegal presence of another illegal alien.” This was rejected by the court.
According to the indictment, “In or about late June or early July 2023, [Yang, Weng, and Huang] and others created, joined, and abetted a scheme to transport eight aliens, as well as Defendant[s], from the District of the Northern Mariana Islands to the Territory of Guam, with the intent that the aliens would reside in Guam, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that seven of the aliens were illegally present in the United States, including in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the eighth alien had no authority to enter or reside in Guam or any part of the United States other than the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.”
