YADONG Zhang, who admitted using a forged People’s Republic of China passport to enter the CNMI in 2018, has been sentenced by the federal court to serve 12 months of probation.
At a hearing on Friday, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI also ordered Zhang to perform 40 hours of community service and immediately pay a $100 special assessment fee after the sentencing.
The court noted that all bail terms were exonerated, and Homeland Security Investigation, or HSI, is still in possession of the defendant’s passport. In addition, the defendant will remain released.
At a change of plea hearing in April before Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy, Zhang pleaded guilty to one count of forgery or false use of a passport.
According to court information, the defendant, on or about Oct. 17, 2018, “willfully and knowingly used a false, forged, counterfeited, and altered passport or instrument purporting to be a People’s Republic of China passport bearing the name of ‘Yadong Zhang,’ in that the defendant presented the said passport or instrument purporting to be a passport to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport to gain entry into the United States, in violation of Title 18, USC section 1543.”
Zhang was represented by attorney David Banes with Mike Yang serving as her interpreter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe appeared for the federal government.
