U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Alex R. Munson issued an order yesterday afternoon for a continuance of the case.
Villagomez and the Santos couple were originally set to be sentenced at 9 a.m. today. A jury found them guilty of five counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and theft of federal funds on April 24, 2009 following a 17-day jury trial.
The three were indicted last year and were out on $50,000 bail each.
The other defendant, former CUC Executive Director Anthony C. Guerrero, pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to three years probation and a $6,000 fine.
The defendants were accused of entering into a scheme from 1998 to 2007 to make unnecessary purchases of a de-scaler agent called Rhydlyme. The transactions entailed “a mark-up of approximately 400 percent over cost.”
The federal court has denied several motions filed by the defendants including asking Munson to inhibit himself from handling the case, motions for a retrial and judgment of acquittal, motions for continued release pending appeal at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and other motions.
Conspiracy charges carry a maximum prison term of five years and a fine of up to $250,000. Wire fraud carries a sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000 while theft concerning federal funds carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
