By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
A FEDERAL complaint accuses Venerando Aquino Martin of fraudulently filing U.S. permanent resident applications — commonly known as green cards — for himself and 242 others under the C16 eligibility category, which requires “continuous residence in the United States since before Jan. 1, 1972.”
Homeland Security Investigations Task Force Officer Paul Quizon arrested Martin, a Filipino national, at his Koblerville residence on Oct. 15. Martin faces three counts: making a false statement on an immigration document (June 25, 2023) and obtaining immigration documents by fraud (Sept. 23, 2023, and June 18, 2024).
Martin appeared before Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy in the District Court for the NMI on Oct. 17 for an initial hearing. Attorney Mark Scoggins was appointed to represent him, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe represented the federal government.
Judge Kennedy released Martin on a $1,000 unsecured bond with conditions, including surrendering his passport to HSI.
According to the complaint, HSI-Saipan investigators received information in August 2024 from independent sources, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, regarding suspicious immigration benefit filings.
“Specifically, approximately 242 immigration benefit applications for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) under the same eligibility category (C16) were submitted listing the same Saipan mailing address (‘Target Mailing’). Law enforcement database checks identified the address as belonging to Venerando Martin, who listed his physical address as ‘Adobu Drive, Koblerville, Saipan, MP 96950.’ Records further identified Martin as a Philippines national who first entered the United States on or about Sept. 10, 2000,” Quizon stated in the complaint.
Investigators said immigration records show Martin submitted Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) and Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) on June 25, 2023, listing the target mailing address. USCIS issued Martin an EAD while his Form I-485 was pending. A review of the application showed Martin selected the C16 category, even though border-crossing records and his own declarations confirm he has not been continuously present in the United States since Jan. 1, 1972, as required.
Additional filings in March 2024 linked to Martin’s address raised further red flags.
“The filings, submitted by an alien referred to as APPLICANT 1, declared an eligibility category of C16 on Forms I-485 and I-765. Immigration database checks revealed APPLICANT 1 has been illegally present in the United States since overstaying an authorized visa in 2014. Born in 2003, APPLICANT 1 is not eligible for the C16 category. In June 2024, USCIS mailed APPLICANT 1’s EAD to the target mailing address while the Form I-485 was pending,” Quizon stated.
During an August 2024 administrative interview with USCIS on Saipan, APPLICANT 1 said they paid Martin in cash to prepare and file the applications.
“APPLICANT 1 disclosed that Martin selected the C16 eligibility category, completed the forms, and instructed APPLICANT 1 to sign and date them after he had entered the information. APPLICANT 1 also provided Martin with supporting documents, including passport copies, a birth certificate, police clearance, and vaccination records. APPLICANT 1 received the EAD from Martin after he picked it up at the target mailing address on or about June 18, 2024.”
Martin is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 31 at 9 a.m.
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.
