ANOTHER illegal alien convicted on Saipan for conspiracy to enter Guam illegally by boat was arrested on Guam on Dec. 11, 2024, for violating his release conditions
Court documents did not indicate how Aimin Zhang ended up on Guam.
On Aug. 30, 2024, Zhang was among six individuals indicted in the District Court for the NMI for abetting “a scheme to transport six aliens from Saipan, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, to the Territory of Guam, with the intent that the aliens would reside unlawfully in Guam, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that the aliens were illegally present in the United States, including in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”
According to the indictment, “On or about Aug. 17, 2024, defendants and two unindicted co-conspirators boarded [a] motorboat in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and then drove the boat to the Territory of Guam.”
The defendants had arrived on Saipan after being granted legal entry under the parole program for Chinese visitors or the conditional worker nonimmigrant visa program for foreign workers.
On Sept. 26, 2024, Zhang was convicted of “Count 1: Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(l)(A)(v)(I) and Count 2: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.”
Zhang was sentenced to time served and three-year supervised release.
On Oct. 23, 2024, an amended petition for warrant or summons for offenders under supervision was filed against Zhang. On the same day, a warrant for his arrest was issued by the federal court.
On Dec. 11, 2024, he was arrested on Guam. Subsequently, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Guam and the NMI requested the Guam District Court to issue a writ of removal against Zhang to the NMI.
At an initial hearing on Dec. 20, Zhang, represented by attorney David Banes, admitted violating his supervised release conditions.
U.S. Probation Officer Greg Arriola recommended that the defendant’s supervised release be revoked and that he be sentenced to three months of imprisonment, as Zhang does not have an order of removal from Homeland Security Investigations.
Banes and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley, who represented the federal government, both requested for a continuance to allow the parties to address a proposed solution.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona said Zhang has violated his release conditions. She scheduled a hearing for Jan. 13, 2025, at 10 a.m.
In another similar case, Hongmei Ding was arrested on Dec. 10, 2024, on Guam for violating her release conditions. Ding was convicted and sentenced last year by the NMI federal court for attempting to enter Guam illegally by boat.
At the hearing on Dec. 20, Ding, represented by attorney Richard Miller, admitted to violating her supervised release conditions.
Probation Officer Arriola recommended that the defendant’s supervised release be revoked and that she be sentenced to imprisonment for time served.
For her part, Special Agent Meilani Quintanilla said an expedited order of removal was issued for Ding and that the defendant could be removed as early as the end of January 2025.
O’Malley requested for a continuance as the U.S. government is requesting maximum imprisonment.
Ding was ordered to return to court on Jan. 13, 2025.
Zhang and Ding were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals.
