SAIPAN, Northern Marianas—A US federal judge has rejected pleas for leniency and imposed prison terms on a Filipina mother and daughter, citing a “befuddling” scheme that siphoned funds meant for schoolchildren. The court ordered the recovery of their assets, including a house in Leyte.
Chief Judge Ramona Mangloña sentenced Clarissa Adlawan to 48 months imprisonment, slightly above the guideline range, while her daughter, Giselle Butalid, received 18 months, during a May 6 hearing held at the Guma Hustisia in Susupe, Saipan.
Mangloña said the case went beyond ordinary fraud, describing a troubling dynamic in which a mother enabled, and even encouraged, her daughter’s participation in a conspiracy that diverted federal education funds.
Both were also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay a $200 special assessment. The court imposed joint and several liability for $548,788 in restitution to the CNMI Public School System (PSS) and the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).
Prosecutors said part of the recovery will target a nine-room house Adlawan has built or is building in Jaro, Leyte. Testimony showed funds were withdrawn and transferred to the Philippines and used in part for construction and property development.
Adlawan and Butalid earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering charges tied to the diversion of federal funds through One Legacy Corp., a private firm controlled by Adlawan.
During the hearing, Internal Revenue Service special agent Dawn Wandschneider testified that Adlawan paid kickbacks to two officials linked to the CCDF, with documented amounts including $5,000 and $15,000, followed by additional payments tied to contract renewals. Records recovered from her apartment also pointed to a pattern of monthly kickbacks and gifts, including luxury jewelry and designer bags such as Louis Vuitton items.
Butalid previously worked with the PSS Office of Curriculum and Instruction, where she handled federal grant records and reporting.
Mangloña drew a distinction between the two, finding Butalid to be the more vulnerable participant, noting her susceptibility to her mother’s influence. She said Butalid, though appearing intelligent, “lacked integrity” and took funds from the very institution meant to educate children. The judge also noted that Butalid’s final act before leaving PSS was processing a large check, which did not reflect genuine remorse.
Mangloña rejected defense requests for home detention, calling such a penalty “laughable” given the scale of the fraud and its impact on children.
Butalid was born in the Philippines and brought to Saipan by Adlawan.
Investigators said more than $1.2 million flowed through accounts linked to the scheme, with hundreds of thousands of dollars remitted overseas.