Sentencing for Giselle Butalid and her mother, Clarissa Adlawan, in a federal fraud case tied to the CNMI Public School System was postponed last week after newly discovered information prompted the court to continue the proceedings.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands vacated previously scheduled sentencing dates and reset the matter for May 6, 2026, to allow additional time to address the new information and update presentence reports.
During the March 13, 2026, hearing, U.S. Probation officer Janet Yamashita informed the court of recently discovered information related to Adlawan’s initial green card petition and a possible marital relationship with another individual that had not been known when the final presentence investigation reports were prepared.
The court directed probation to follow up on victim claims and statements from Perfectly Set and Dr. Solomon and to update the presentence report and victim impact report.
Assistant U.S. attorney Eric O’Malley also told the court that the government intends to provide a manifest to Perfectly Set for verification and said a final forfeiture order will not be pursued until the matter is clarified and the parties have an opportunity to litigate the issue.
Manglona noted that a victim identified as PSS was not present in court and asked whether the victims had been notified of the proceeding. Prosecutors confirmed that victims had been notified and that the government has been communicating by email with counsel for PSS.
The court said it was inclined to continue the sentencing to give the government time to notify victims of its sentencing recommendation.
The government also raised concerns about disclosures made by Adlawan and indicated it was prepared to present additional information through IRS special agent Dawn Wandschneider. Defense attorney Mark Scoggins said he was not prepared to address the proffered evidence during the hearing.
Yamashita said information related to a “Farmhouse” construction matter had not been included in the presentence report because it was only recently provided by the government earlier this week.
Manglona vacated the March 27 and May 8 hearing dates and set sentencing for both defendants on May 6 at 9am, which will include a restitution hearing and a Rule 41 motion hearing.
The court ordered that an amended presentence report be filed by April 22, with any remaining objections due by April 29.
Butalid and Adlawan were ordered to return to court for sentencing and will remain released pending the hearing. Butalid previously worked under PSS’ Office of Curriculum and Instruction, where her duties included maintaining accurate records and data for federal grant projects and reporting this information to the grant director.
Both women previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and money laundering conspiracy in connection with a scheme that prosecutors say diverted $262,788 in federal funds through a private company.
The money was allegedly funneled through One Legacy Corp., a private company controlled by Adlawan, which received government contracts worth “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
A search of the defendants’ Saipan apartment reportedly uncovered 66 designer handbags and 160 pieces of jewelry, which prosecutors say were purchased using proceeds from the fraudulent transactions.
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