By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
SZE Man Yu Inos, also known as “Yuki,” is expected to plead guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud in federal court.
On Oct. 30, Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe requested a change-of-plea hearing. Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands granted the request and scheduled the hearing for Nov. 6 at 1:30 p.m.
The plea agreement remains sealed as of Thursday.
Inos was arrested in April on eight counts of wire fraud. She remains in custody under a detention order issued by Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy, who cited the strength of the evidence and risk of flight.
Represented by attorney Joey San Nicolas, Inos recently filed a motion to reopen her detention hearing, arguing that her father-in-law is now available to serve as a third-party custodian. Her defense claims she is not a flight risk and poses no danger to the community, citing her family ties on Saipan and the surrender of her travel documents.
Federal prosecutors opposed the motion, arguing that the proposed custodian does not constitute “new information” under federal law and should have been presented earlier.
On Oct. 27, Judge Manglona denied the motion to reopen and modify the detention order.
“The [U.S.] government’s proffer of evidence and related facts indicate that while in custody, the defendant continued to engage in the conduct underlying the charges set forth in the indictment — namely, that she sought to solicit transfers of significant sums of money from others based on false pretenses,” she stated.
The judge noted that four calls were intercepted at the CNMI Department of Corrections.
“Furthermore, the government’s proffer shows that the defendant has previously engaged in similar conduct in each of the jurisdictions in which she has resided,” Judge Manglona added.
“The court therefore finds by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community. The court further finds that the April 21, 2025 detention order was correct based on the information before the magistrate judge at that time — i.e., that the defendant was a flight risk based on her recent, numerous instances of international travel, extensive planned international travel prior to arrest, possession of foreign passports, use of aliases, and unexplained sources of funds for her lifestyle — and that the new information presented at the Oct. 24, 2025 hearing supports an order of detention,” she said.
Inos was indicted in federal court on allegations that she lured older women on Saipan and Guam into an elaborate scheme to solicit money and Bitcoin investments under false pretenses.
According to court documents, Inos was arrested in San Diego, California on April 18 and transported to Saipan on June 23. She faces eight counts of wire fraud. The indictment outlines specific instances in which Inos transmitted fraudulent messages to her victims.
Between Nov. 1, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2022, Inos allegedly devised and executed a scheme to defraud several individuals through false representations.
She is accused of targeting older women, befriending them by posing as a wealthy Chinese businesswoman. She allegedly treated them to expensive meals and gifts while boasting about her supposed success in Bitcoin investments.
After gaining their trust, Inos allegedly fabricated personal crises — such as marital problems or business setbacks — to solicit money and investments from her victims.
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.