By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
FEDERAL prosecutors are seeking to forfeit $262,788 and a cache of luxury goods from former Public School System employee Giselle Butalid and her mother, Clarissa Adlawan, who admitted to siphoning public funds and laundering the proceeds through transactions reaching the Philippines.
In a motion filed on Friday, 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 the concealment of funds through structured and international transfers.
According to prosecutors, the defendants used One Legacy LLC to stage fake purchases of educational materials between October 2021 and August 2022. They submitted falsified documents and forged signatures to push payments through PSS, with individual transactions ranging from $23,242.50 to $113,020. The scheme laundered at least $262,788. Because PSS received more than $10,000 in federal grants during that period, the case falls under federal jurisdiction.
The funds were cycled through financial transactions designed to conceal their origin, evade reporting requirements, and move money overseas, meeting the elements of laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956. Investigators say purchases included luxury handbags and jewelry seized during an Aug. 15 search and now held in government custody.
Butalid and Adlawan pleaded guilty in October to Count 1 (Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 371) and Count 7 (Money Laundering Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h)). 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 any third-party claims. For the money judgment, no ancillary hearing is required, and the United States could immediately begin collection under federal forfeiture statutes.
Jewelry store owners Wilfredo Ching and Violeta M. Centeno have filed a $59,300 claim seeking recovery of items seized from Adlawan. Ching and Centeno, officers of Enhance Pacific Corp., which operates as Perfectly Set, said many of the confiscated pieces had been consigned to Adlawan for resale. In a letter to Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona, they said Adlawan befriended Centeno and offered to act as a reseller but left an unpaid balance supported by ledgers and postdated checks from One Legacy LLC.
The store owners said Adlawan never established ownership of most of the seized items and are asking the court to recognize their claim.
Butalid and Adlawan were indicted in August on multiple counts, including theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. Adlawan also faced separate counts of illegal monetary transactions and structuring.
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.
