XIAOQIN Wu has pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully produce an identification document at a hearing on Dec. 14 before Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI.
Wu appeared out of custody and was represented by court-appointed attorney Robert T. Torres. Hua “Mike” Yang served as Wu’s interpreter.
Wu, through his attorney, waived his right to an indictment which the court accepted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe appeared for the federal government and stated that it was prepared to prove the charge against the defendant had the matter gone to trial.
Judge Manglona said she had reviewed the plea agreement, and found that Wu was fully competent to enter a knowing, voluntary and intelligent plea.
She scheduled the sentencing for April 22, 2022 at 1:30 p.m.
Wu remains released with conditions after submitting an unsecured appearance bond.
According to the factual basis of the plea agreement, Wu, on or about February 15, 2019, knowingly and intentionally conspired and agreed with an individual known as “Zhang” to commit an offense against the United States: that is, “to knowingly and without lawful authority produce an identification document, authentication feature, or a false identification document — namely, a fraudulent CNMI driver’s license — and the prohibited production, transfer, possession, or use was in or affected interstate or foreign commerce.”
Specifically, the defendant, who did not have lawful U.S. immigration status, paid Zhang $300 to help him obtain a fraudulent CNMI driver’s license, the plea agreement stated.
It added that the defendant knew that it was illegal to obtain a driver’s license without legal immigration status.
“In furtherance of their plan, defendant gave Zhang $300 and sent Zhang a photo image of his 2017 CNMI driver’s license via WeChat.
“Sometime later, Zhang gave defendant the fraudulent CNMI driver’s license that he (Zhang) had unlawfully produced.”
Court documents did not provide any other information about the defendant.
