The United States Courthouse in Gualo Rai, Saipan.
CHIEF Judge Ramona V. Manglona granted the request of Jiang Guang Zhang for a writ of habeas corpus on Monday, June 2.
Jiang, also known as “Fat Brother,” has filed a petition in federal court seeking to correct a prior sentence calculation by the local court so he can receive credit for time already served.
In a seven-page order, Judge Manglona gave Zhang credit for time served from November 17, 2024, to May 30, 2025.
“Based on this credit for time served, Petitioner has served six months of imprisonment in satisfaction of the federal sentence imposed in United States v. Zhang, Case No. 1:23-cr-00004,” she said.
The judge ordered Zhang “to be transferred from the custody of the United States Marshals Service to the custody of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, effective May 30, 2025, for immigration proceedings.”
Zhang was represented by attorney Joey McDoulett. Zhang’s petition named Department of Corrections Commissioner Anthony C. Torres as respondent.
At the May 30 hearing, Torres appeared without representation and provided an update regarding the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Albert Flores Jr. appeared for the federal government.
Background
In 2022, Zhang agreed to a plea agreement in CNMI Case 22-0092, which involved drug trafficking charges, to a sentence of “five years, of which three years shall be suspended, and two years shall be served day for day without the possibility of parole, early release, weekend release, or other similar programs. Defendant shall receive credit for time served of 28 days.”
On Dec. 16, 2022, the CNMI Superior Court issued its judgment of conviction and commitment order.
Zhang has been incarcerated at the CNMI Department of Corrections since Nov. 18, 2022.
The Public Defender’s Office, which represented Zhang in this local case, detected an error in the court order after Zhang inquired about the pending release date with Corrections.
On May 9, 2025, the CNMI Attorney General’s Office and the defendant requested that the CNMI Superior Court amend its order to correctly reflect the sentence to be imposed.
On May 15, 2025, the order was amended by the CNMI Superior Court to accurately reflect the sentence as two years to be served with credit for 28 days’ time served.
With the correction of the order, Zhang’s sentence in CNMI Criminal Case Number 22-0092 ended on Nov. 18, 2024.
Zhang was then transferred to federal custody on May 16, 2025.
In his federal case, 23-CR-00004, Zhang was charged with bribing a public official and conspiracy to bribe a public official, along with a co-defendant, Shou Qiu.
He was sentenced to six months (or 180 days) imprisonment, three years of supervised release, 50 hours of community service, and a $200 assessment fee.
McDoulett said his client was detained from Nov. 18, 2024, to May 16, 2025.
“Yet this period was not credited toward his federal sentence and was not counted towards the completion of his sentence under CNMI Criminal Case Number 22-0092,” McDoulett said, adding that “Zhang’s federal sentence would have been fully satisfied on May 17, 2025, if he had been granted credit for the time served from Nov. 18, 2024, to May 16, 2025.”
