By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
CLARISSA Adlawan said she has no objection to a forfeiture order covering property listed in the prosecution’s bill of particulars but rejected a $59,300 claim filed by jewelry store owners.
Her attorney, Mark Scoggins, said Adlawan’s plea agreement requires her to forfeit property obtained from proceeds traceable to the offense, as well as substitute assets to provide restitution.
“Ms. Adlawan has no objection to an order of forfeiture as to almost all of the property listed in the bill of particulars,” Scoggins said.
Federal prosecutors are seeking to forfeit $262,788 and luxury goods from former Public School System employee Giselle Butalid and her mother, Adlawan, who admitted to siphoning public funds and laundering the proceeds through transactions reaching the Philippines.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands asked the District Court for the NMI to enter a money judgment and preliminary forfeiture order against Butalid and Adlawan. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges tied to fraudulent procurements and concealment of funds through structured and international transfers.
Scoggins argued that some property listed is not traceable to the offense, including heirloom jewelry Adlawan received years earlier. He cited a pearl necklace once appraised in the Philippines at more than $40,000. Adlawan agreed such items could be considered substitute property under her plea agreement but asked to retain one piece: a lady’s Omega watch gifted by her late husband on their 19th wedding anniversary in 2010.
“This watch does have monetary value, but it has much higher sentimental value to Ms. Adlawan,” Scoggins said.
As for the jewelry store claim, Scoggins said Adlawan disputes it.
“Ms. Adlawan did not make any agreement to sell jewelry by consignment,” he said. “She purchased jewelry from Ms. Violeta Centeno and paid for most of it. Ms. Adlawan is willing to testify to the facts of her transactions with Ms. Centeno.”
Scoggins requested an evidentiary hearing on the matter.
Prosecutors said the defendants used One Legacy LLC to stage fake purchases of educational materials between October 2021 and August 2022, submitting falsified documents and forged signatures to push payments through PSS. Transactions ranged from $23,242.50 to $113,020, laundering at least $262,788. Because PSS received more than $10,000 in federal grants during that period, the case falls under federal jurisdiction.
Investigators said the scheme funded luxury handbags and jewelry seized during an Aug. 15 search.
Butalid and Adlawan pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Prosecutors argue those admissions establish the nexus between the offenses and the assets targeted for forfeiture.
The U.S. government’s bill of particulars listed more than 100 items of gold and silver jewelry along with high-end watches, belts, bags, wallets, shoes, and slides. If granted, the preliminary order would allow prosecutors to seize the property and begin ancillary proceedings to resolve third-party claims.
Jewelry store owners Wilfredo Ching and Violeta M. Centeno, officers of Enhance Pacific Corp., which operates as Perfectly Set, filed a $59,300 claim seeking recovery of items seized from Adlawan. They said many of the confiscated pieces had been consigned to Adlawan for resale. In a letter to Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona, they alleged Adlawan befriended Centeno, offered to act as a reseller, and left an unpaid balance supported by ledgers and postdated checks from One Legacy LLC.
The store owners argue Adlawan never established ownership of most of the seized items and asked the court to recognize their claim.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
