Court vacates forfeiture decision as Perfectly Set owners get jewelry back

A federal court has vacated its earlier forfeiture decision involving jewelry claimed by Perfectly Set owners Violeta M. Centeno and Wilfredo Ching, while the U.S. government agreed to return three pieces to them under an agreement resolving their ownership claim.

In return, Centeno and Ching agreed to withdraw their claims to the remaining personal property covered by the preliminary forfeiture order and consented to the forfeiture of those items.

Ching told Marianas Press that their claim originally involved about 30 to 35 pieces of jewelry.

Following an in-person inspection on Aug. 20, however, Centeno and Ching identified three pieces they believed rightfully belonged to them: a single stud earring with a clear stone, a pair of clear-stone stud earrings, and a gold-colored bead bracelet.

The United States agreed that Centeno and Ching are the rightful owners and have a superior interest in the three pieces, which had been preliminarily forfeited to the government. The government agreed to return them.

The agreement resolves the ownership dispute that had been headed for a forfeiture hearing before Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona.

Centeno and Ching, who own Perfectly Set jewelry store in Garapan, had filed a third-party claim asserting a superior interest in some of the jewelry preliminarily forfeited in the federal criminal case against Clarissa Adlawan and her daughter, Giselle Butalid.

The inspection was arranged after Centeno and Ching sought an opportunity to visually examine the seized jewelry and determine which pieces they believed belonged to them.

As part of the agreement, the petitioners also released the United States, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and state or local law enforcement agencies from claims arising from the seizure and forfeiture of the property. They also waived potential claims for fees or other costs associated with the proceedings.

The broader forfeiture involved 160 pieces of jewelry and 66 designer handbags, including Louis Vuitton and Prada items, seized during the federal investigation of Adlawan and Butalid. Centeno and Ching had contended that some of the jewelry had been provided to Adlawan on consignment for resale rather than purchased with proceeds of the fraud.

Adlawan and Butalid were sentenced in May following their convictions in a procurement fraud and money laundering case involving the CNMI Public School System.

According to court records, the pair orchestrated a scheme that generated fraudulent payments through forged procurement documents, with the proceeds later laundered through financial transactions and used to purchase luxury goods and other assets.