SEONGIL Lee, also known as Nasaro Lee, on Tuesday pled guilty to making false statements to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the port of entry of Saipan.
Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy of the District Court for the NMI said “there is a factual basis for the plea,” which “was entered into knowingly and voluntarily, without coercion or promises (other than those in the written agreement of the parties).”
“Therefore,” she added, “it is recommended that Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona accept the guilty plea….”
Judge Kennedy set Lee’s sentencing for Nov. 24 at 3:30 p.m. and vacated all the other hearing dates.
Lee, through his court-appointed attorney, Bruce Berline, pled guilty to one count of making false statement.
Lee remains released on an unsecured $3,000 bond.
Last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations filed a criminal complaint against Lee for presenting a South Korean passport in the name of another person and for making false statements and representations to CBP officials.
According to the factual basis for the plea agreement, when asked by a HSI special agent whether he had ever violated any law related to drugs, Lee answered “no,” “a statement he knew was false, in that he had previously been convicted and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for trafficking a controlled substance into Japan from South Korea.”
Making a false statement carries a maximum penalty of not more than five-year imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $250,000, and not more than three years of supervised release.
HSI Special Agent Frederic Jonas, in his affidavit in support of a criminal complaint against Lee, stated that on Oct. 16, 2021, at the Saipan Port of Entry, Lee presented a South Korean passport in the name of “Nasaro Lee” with a date of birth different from his own.
According to Department of Homeland Security records, on April 5, 2010, CBP denied Seongil Lee’s entry into the United States at the Los Angeles Port of Entry.
The inadmissibility was based in part on an interview with CBP, wherein Lee admitted to being convicted of a controlled substance offense in Japan.
Lee also admitted to serving five years and eight months in prison for trafficking a controlled substance into Japan from South Korea.
Special Agent Jonas said based on his narcotic conviction, Lee is deemed inadmissible per section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
On May 21, 2019, Lee submitted an Electronic System for Travel Authorization or ESTA application, through the official website of DHS-CBP as part of the CNMI’s Visa Waiver Program.
Lee’s ESTA application failed to disclose that he was a convicted felon and was denied.
On Oct. 1, 2021, an ESTA application was submitted in the name of “Nasaro Lee.”
This ESTA application, which failed to disclose Seongil Lee’s prior felony conviction, was approved on Oct. 1, 2021.
According to DHS, the fingerprints obtained from Seongil Lee’s previous encounters and Nasaro Lee matched.
In his affidavit, Jonas said he also reviewed the images of Seongil Lee taken by CBP during the encounter on April 5, 2010, and compared them with the image of “Nasaro Lee” taken on Oct. 16, at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport.
“Both images of the separate encounters are, in my opinion, of the same individual,” Jonas added.
