In her hand-written letter to the court, Antonieta Bonifacio Aguon said she would like to file a “Coram Nobis” petition to prevent her from being deported to the Philippines.
Coram Nobis is a writ produced by a court to vacate the outcome of a case when a clear mistake of a fact occurred.
Aguon asked the court to appoint a lawyer to represent her as the deportation matter on her case will be heard on March 31.
Though married to an American, Aguon’s immigration status is that of an immediate relative, or IR, of her spouse.
“I was convicted in 2007 and was not advised by the assigned counsel(s) in my case, Ms. Stephanie Flores and Mr. Loren Sutton. That time, I felt that I was not given proper (counseling) and they did not explain that if I plead guilty, I’ll be facing deportation in the near future,” Aguon wrote.
“Due to financial hardship, I would like also to request for a lawyer to represent me on this matter. I need help because deadline is on March 31, 2011,” she added.
Aguon was sentenced 22 months in jail, with credit for time served and three years probation upon her release.
Deportation was part of her sentence and so was an order requiring her to give DNA sample upon her release.
She was also ordered to pay the IRS in Atlanta, Georgia $5,546.
In 2007, Aguon offered for a fee to file tax refunds for hundreds of taxpayers in the CNMI through the U.S. Earned Income Tax Credit program.
The program does not apply to the Northern Marianas which has its own tax system.
The false claims were filed online and hundreds of individuals got tax refunds using bogus addresses in the U.S.
The IRS estimated disbursing between $400,000 to $1 million to false claimants from the CNMI.
