Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric S. O’Malley and the court-appointed attorney of Heqian Ma, Michael Evangelista, stipulated to conduct a June 3 preliminary hearing, instead of June 1.
Visiting federal Judge John A. Houston earlier ordered Ma’s continued detention pending trial, since “there is serious risk that the defendant will not appear,” if allowed pretrial release.
After a detention hearing, Houston ruled there was “a preponderance of the evidence that there is no condition or set of conditions what would reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance as required.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Ma for enticing a nonresident couple to come to and work at a massage shop on Saipan.
In his affidavit, ICE special agent Isra D. Harahap said the victims, Weifeng Guo and Yuyan Li, reported to the Homeland Security Investigations office on Saipan on Feb. 3, 2011 that they were defrauded by Ma.
The recruiter told Weifing Guo he could make between 5,000 to 8,000 Chinese yuan, or $766 to $1,226 per month, and Yuyan Li could make between 10,000 to 15,000 Chinese yuan, or $1,532 to $2,299 on Saipan.
After arriving on Saipan in December last year, the victims were brought to a massage shop in the San Antonio area on Saipan.
The couple declined to accept the job offer — the husband was supposed to work at a supermarket, while the wife would undergo training before she could start working as a masseuse.
