KOBE Abobo, 22, appeared in the custody of the Department of Corrections before Superior Court Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan for a bail hearing Monday morning.
Abobo was accused of forging the checks of four Saipan companies and cashing the counterfeited checks at different retail stores in Garapan, Kagman, As Lito, San Antonio, and Dandan.
He was charged with forgery, misuse of financial instrument, and theft.
Judge Bogdan imposed a $25,000 bail on Abobo and remanded him to the custody of Corrections. He was ordered to return to court on Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. for a preliminary hearing, and on Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. for an arraignment.
Abobo was represented by Assistant Public Defender Tyler Scott, while Assistant Attorney General Frieda Demapan appeared for the government.
In his complaint and affidavit of probable cause in support of the issuance of an arrest warrant, Department of Public Safety Detective Daniel K. Kaipat, stated that surveillance footage from retail stores showed that Abobo cashed the fraudulent checks in the total amount of $5,436.88.
According to the cashiers, Abobo cashed 10 checks under the names of two other people.
Detective Kaipat stated that he also did a Facebook search for “Abobo” and found the defendant’s account. According to Abobo on FB, “I did those fraud checks in all the stores.”
Kaipat said he took a screenshot of the post and saved it.
Police also ran the two names listed on the fraudulent checks and found no driver’s license issued under those names, but a driver’s license exists for Abobo.
Kobe Abobo, 22, right, is escorted by Corrections Officer Candido Aldan after a bail hearing before Superior Court Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan on Monday morning.
