August trial set for Macaranas, Flores in misconduct case

Attorney Robert Torres, who represents Eloida Dela Cruz Macaranas, said his client is preparing for trial after the Superior Court of the Northern Mariana Islands set key deadlines during a hearing last Feb. 26 before Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo.

Macaranas and co-defendant Larissa Sablan Flores, who is represented by attorney Colin Thompson, are facing charges stemming from alleged misconduct in public office related to lump-sum leave payments.

Macaranas, payroll manager at the Department of Finance, and Flores, former administrative manager for the Office of the Mayor of Saipan, were charged for the alleged misappropriation of nearly $100,000 in public funds from the Saipan Mayor’s Office.

“We’re setting this for a jury trial. That’ll be on August 24th at 9am. We anticipate that from our discussions that the government will have until about March 23rd to file any amended information,” Torres said following the hearing at the Superior Court.

He said the defense also expects to file motions as part of trial preparations.

“We also will have the opportunity to file any motions, including a motion for a bill of particulars, which may require the government to detail its theory of the case as issues that have raised in the past,” Torres said. “So we’re going to trial. Of course, it’s been clear that discussions always happen between the government and the defendants, which we are always welcome to consider.”

Torres reiterated the defense’s position that his client and the co-defendant did nothing wrong.

“However, our position is that Ms. Macaranas and Ms. Flores absolutely remain innocent and did nothing wrong on this,” he said. “We expect that the facts will bear that out and hold the government to its burden of proof.”

While plea discussions are always possible in criminal cases, Torres said the defense is moving forward toward trial.

“Whether we get there or whether we go to trial, at this point we are proceeding to trial, and we’ll always have to talk to the government at all the time anyway in any criminal case,” Torres said. “So we’ll see where that goes. But for now, we’re definitely looking forward to trial on this case.”

He also noted the prosecution’s role in bringing the charges.

“The Office of the Attorney General is the chief prosecutor of the Commonwealth. Their job is to prosecute criminal violations if they believe so,” Torres said. “But they are accountable to our community as the executive branch. Having said that, here in the judiciary branch, here in the court of law, the government is held to its burden of proof in a criminal case.”

Torres emphasized the seriousness of the allegations and the defense’s response.

“It is a criminal case, which has serious allegations of misconduct of public office, which we absolutely and categorically deny and challenge,” he said. “But the government has its role, and we respect that, but we certainly intend to hold them to their burden.”

Torres said prosecutors have until March 23 to file any amended information, while the defense has until April 27 to file motions, including a possible bill of particulars, ahead of the Aug. 24 jury trial.

The case is part of a broader prosecution filed in August 2025 alleging improper lump-sum leave payments involving multiple individuals. Earlier this month, the CNMI Office of the Attorney General dismissed the misconduct charge against former chief of staff Henry S. Hofschneider after he agreed to repay $15,000 to the government as part of a civil settlement.