Chief Justice Arthur Ngiraklsong found Emory Mesubed not guilty of the charges because “the government failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt,” that he committed the alleged crime.
Mesubed was represented by Public Defender Garth Backe.Backe, after the close of the government’s case on January 14, made an oral motion for judgment of acquittal.The court granted the motion due to insufficiency of evidence. In a four-page verdict of not guilty, Ngiraklsong ruled that the government also failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mesubed intended to permanently defraud the Civil Service Pension Plan of $1,000,000.Assistant Attorney General Michael Copeland, handled the trial. Copeland is assisting the Office of the Independent Counsel (OIC).Ngiraklsong said that when the Court asked Copeland what evidence supported Mesubed’s intent to permanently defraud the Pension Plan of $1 million, he responded by saying that Tim Taunton, President of the former PSB “ran the bank as his own and intended to get the funds and leave the country permanently.”The court however ruled that Taunton was not on trial. Taunton fled the country days after PSB was closed down.“The court cannot possibly assume he is guilty of the crimes alleged in the case. Second, Taunton left the country after the bank has been placed on receivership. Third, the government owns expert witness testified that these questionable transactions including the $1 million time deposit were desperate attempts for the bank to financially stay afloat,” the ruling said.The government prosecutor, Ngiraklsong said failed to prove that Mesubed wanted to defraud the Pension Plan because there is no evidence to flee the country to join Taunton.Mesubed was the first of the sixteen defendants to face trial involving the failure of the bank.Previous criminal cases filed in connection with the bank’s collapse have been dismissed.Independent Counsel Lewis Harley has earlier asked those cases to be dismissed. The most recent is an order dismissing the case against another defendant Mario Gulibert.The information was dismissed without prejudice.Harley in an interview said the key person in the case was Taunton.He however said that there are pending civil cases that could lead to the recovery of deposits made in the bank.Harley said that the OIC “is still vigorously looking at trying to locate Taunton.”He said that the OIC is working very closely with several foreign governments in locating the former bank President.Harley said that his office is “cautiously optimistic” that Taunton will be located and brought to trial.
