THE Office of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division has filed information in Superior Court charging four individuals —Henry Sablan Hofschneider, Larissa Sablan Flores, Teresita Borja Camacho, and Eloida Dela Cruz Macaranas — with misconduct in public office.
The defendants, three of whom were staffers of then-Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, were not arrested. Penal summonses were issued on Tuesday, requiring them to appear before Presiding Judge Robert Naraja on Aug. 25 at 9 a.m. in courtroom 202A to answer the allegations. The penal summons stated that the case stemmed from an Office of the Public Auditor investigation, Case 23-0005.
Hofschneider and Flores, who now serve on the staff of Gov. Apatang, received the penal summons and information on Wednesday at the governor’s office on Capital Hill.
Macaranas was served with the same documents later that day at the Department of Finance’s Financial and Accounting Services Office at the Horiguchi Building in Garapan.
As for Camacho, no information was available as of Thursday afternoon as to whether she had been served.
Hofschneider and Flores were each charged with one count of misconduct in public office.
Hofschneider and Flores, while serving respectively as special assistant and administrative manager to then-Lt. Gov. Apatang, were accused of appropriating $98,379.65 for their personal use by taking it from the Office of the Mayor of Saipan account between May 19 and June 28, 2023 — without the mayor’s expenditure authorization or approval.
Camacho was charged with two counts of misconduct in public office.
While serving as a budget officer in the Saipan Mayor’s Office, Camacho was accused of appropriating $38,279.53 for her personal use from mayor’s office accounts without approval between June 2 and June 28, 2023.
She was also accused of neglecting her duty by failing to notify the mayor and the human resources manager about the misappropriation of funds.
Misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a $50,000 fine.
According to the court filing, Flores was also charged with one count of possession or removal of government property, punishable by up to six months in prison. She is accused of removing personnel files of former employees from the Saipan Mayor’s Office.
Macaranas, who served as a payroll manager at the Department of Finance, was accused of processing unauthorized payments totaling $98,379.65.
She faces a maximum of two years’ imprisonment and a $1,500 fine.
Reached for comment, Gov. Apatang told Marianas Press on Thursday that he has no idea why the charges were filed.
“To me, it does not make any sense. There’s no problem with these guys cashing in their leave — they’re authorized. Matter of fact, there’s a [previous] AG’s opinion … way back then that … it’s okay, it’s legal,” Apatang said.
“For me,” he added, “there is no wrongdoing. I think it’s just miscommunication. Otherwise, Finance would not have paid them for their remaining leave.”
Background
In August 2023, Apatang’s successor as Saipan mayor, Ramon “RB” Camacho, said he filed a complaint with the Department of Public Safety regarding missing personnel files of former employees of the mayor’s office.
“There was no break-in, but those personnel files are government property. All files of former employees who transferred are missing,” Mayor Camacho said.
He said he also discovered that $98,137.14 in lump sum payments for accrued annual leave of former and current municipal employees was taken from the Mayor’s Office funds without his knowledge or authorization.
According to the mayor, the payouts were disbursed on May 19, May 27, June 2, June 14, and June 28, 2023.
At a Senate Committee on Fiscal Affairs budget hearing on July 14, 2023, Department of Finance Secretary Tracy Norita told lawmakers the payouts were authorized and legal.
In response, Mayor Camacho said, “I did not authorize it.”
He added that the Office of the Public Auditor was looking into the lump sum annual leave payments.
