Shayne Villanueva flashes the “peace” sign as he exits the courtroom following a hearing at the Guma’ Hustisia on Nov. 19. 2024. Also in photo is his lawyer, Keith Chambers II, left.
RELYING on his constitutional protection against self-incrimination, businessman Shayne Blanco Villanueva invoked the Fifth Amendment before the House Special Committee on Federal Assistance & Disaster-Related Funding when asked questions about BOOST on March 5, 2024.
Citing 1 CMC 1306, the committee found him in contempt of the Legislature.
On March 22, 2024, Villanueva self-surrendered at the Department of Corrections after an arrest warrant was issued against him. He posted $1,000 bail for his release.
Following an arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Villanueva is the owner of Roil Soil Marketing, which the administration of then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres contracted to help market and promote the $17 million federally funded Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together or BOOST program in 2022.
According to the House special committee, the documents it gathered indicated that Villanueva was paid $215,000 “at the very least,” by the previous administration for implementing the program.
Two former BOOST contractors, Nonstop Corp.’s Rob Travilla and Salina Sapp, were also found in contempt by the special House committee. Both likewise invoked their Fifth Amendment right when they declined to answer questions about the BOOST program.
Former Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig also invoked the Fifth Amendment when the committee asked him questions about the BOOST program. He, too, was found in contempt by the House. However, so far, only Villanueva has been charged in Superior Court for contempt of the Legislature.
In his defense, Villanueva said prior to the committee hearing, he was informed by his attorney that he was being investigated by the Office of the Attorney General’s criminal division.
His lawyer, Keith Chambers II, said, “Assistant Attorney General James Kingman and AG investigator Ikluk Masayos was at the legislative hearing to obtain more information for their criminal investigation against Mr. Villanueva.”
Villanueva’s bench trial, originally set for Nov. 6, 2024, had been rescheduled for Dec. 3, 2024. But because the parties informed Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo of other pending motions, he rescheduled the trial for Jan. 27, 2025.
The case was reassigned to Judge Govendo after Presiding Judge Naraja recused himself from the case. The judge is the uncle of Rep. Ralph Naraja Yumul, the chair of the House special committee that found Villanueva in contempt of the Legislature.
In a recent order, Judge Govendo sanctioned and reprimanded both the prosecutor and the defense attorney.
Judge Govendo also disqualified Kingman from prosecuting the case “to ensure procedural integrity and due process for all parties throughout the court.”
The judge reprimanded Kingman and ordered him to pay a $500 fine for violating the model rules of professional conduct, specifically for “abusing his prosecutorial power and authority, which led to his forced recusal for bias and lack of impartiality.”
Likewise, Judge Govendo reprimanded Chambers, and ordered him to pay a $500 fine for violating the model rules of professional conduct, specifically for “harming the administration of justice and wasting resources by withholding crucial information and inconveniencing other parties.”
Chambers has appealed the sanction order. For his part, the OAG’s chief solicitor, J. Robert Glass Jr., has been assigned to the case, Variety learned.
Notable Dates
January 2023
Rep. Marissa Flores, the newly appointed chairwoman of the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations for the 23rd CNMI Legislature, said “given the initiation of several criminal investigations into the BOOST program, the 23rd JGO Committee agreed that it would not conduct additional legislative hearings regarding the BOOST Program. The JGO Committee agreed on respecting the process and avoiding conflict with these ongoing criminal investigations.”
May 2023
House Vice Speaker Joel Camacho, as acting speaker, created a Special Committee on Federal Assistance and Disaster Related Funding to probe the previous administration’s expenditures of American Rescue Plan Act and other federal funds. The chair of the special committee, Rep. Ray N. Yumul, said “there are many questions that remain unanswered in last year’s investigation conducted by House Judiciary and Governmental Operations regarding the Torres administration’s expenditure of ARPA funds, including the Building Optimism, Opportunities, and Stability Together or BOOST program and the Community Disaster Loan.”
January 2024
The House Special Committee on Federal Assistance & Disaster-Related Funding said it would look into the funds spent to promote and/or advertise the $17 million Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together program implemented by the administration of then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres in 2022. Rep. Marissa Flores, during a committee meeting, moved to issue a subpoena duces tecum and a subpoena duces testificandum to Marianas Variety, Saipan Tribune and KKMP Radio. The committee said it would like to find out how much was owed to these media outlets for BOOST advertisements. “It does not suggest any wrongdoing on their part,” said one of the committee members, House Floor Leader Edwin Propst, referring to the media outlets.
March 2024
Shayne B. Villanueva, owner of Roil Soil Marketing, a former BOOST contractor, appeared before the House special committee and invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked about the federally funded program. The committee found him in contempt of the Legislature. Villanueva, who denied the charge, self-surrendered at the Department of Correction after an arrest warrant was issued against him. He posted $1,000 bail for his release.
In separate hearings, the committee also found former Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig as well as former BOOST contractors Salina Sapp and Robert Travilla in contempt after they invoked their Fifth Amendment right in response to questions about BOOST. So far, unlike Villanueva, they have not been charged with contempt of the Legislature in court.
August 2024
Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja denied the motion to dismiss the contempt case against Shayne Villanueva. According to the judge, Villanueva argued that he was deprived of his right to counsel, “but it appears that neither he nor his counsel asserted that right.”
October 2024
Legislators, legislative staffers, Bank of Saipan employees and other individuals, including the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General James Kingman, were subpoenaed by the defense to testify in the bench trial of Shayne Villanueva set for Nov. 6, 2024. “Failure to comply with this subpoena may constitute the crime of contempt of court and a warrant may be issued for your arrest,” according to the summons issued by Superior Court Clerk of Court Patrick Diaz.
November 2024
Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja recused himself from Shayne Villanueva’s contempt of Legislature case. Judge Naraja took judicial notice of newly presented exhibits indicating a potential conflict of interest. He acknowledged that a reasonable person, fully informed of the facts, might question his impartiality. The judge’s sister is the mother of Rep. Ralph Naraja Yumul, the chair of the House special committee, who was expected to be called as a witness in the case.
Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo rescheduled Villanueva’s bench trial for Jan. 27, 2025 at 9 a.m.
December 2024
Judge Kenneth L. Govendo sanctioned and disqualified Assistant Attorney General James Kingman from Shayne Villanueva’s contempt of Legislature case. The judge also denied Kingman’s motion to quash the subpoena for him to testify as a witness in the trial, saying that the prosecutor’s motion was “not well-founded.” The judge likewise reprimanded Kingman and Villanueva’s attorney, Keith Chambers, and ordered them to each pay a $500 fine for violating the model rules of professional conduct.
The Office of the Attorney General’s chief solicitor, J. Robert Glass Jr., has been assigned to the case.
At the same time, Judge Govendo said federal authorities should investigate the allegations surrounding the BOOST program as it involves federal funding. He said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, would have been better equipped to investigate and prosecute allegations of corruption in federal court.
