Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The government alleges in its case against Chief Immigration Officer (CIO) Peseta Dennis Fuimaono that it was the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Fiu Johnny Saelua who called Peseta sometime between Oct-Nov, 2016 and informed Peseta about the sexual abuse allegations made against him by a woman who used to lived with he and his family.

During the phone conversation, Fiu — among other things — not only basically told Peseta  about the sexual abuse allegation against him, but he also stated that he did not want to get in trouble with the law. For that reason, Fiu asked Peseta how to get rid of the woman (victim) and her husband.

The victim, who is named in the court affidavit as S.T, and her husband (M.S) are both victims in the government’s case against Peseta.

The couple, both citizens of Samoa, were sponsored by Fiu’s sister and they entered American Samoa in 2004 and lived in the Fiu household until 2014 when the sexual abuse allegation came to light.

In response to Fiu’s question about how to get rid of the victim and her husband, Peseta asked Fiu who the couple’s sponsor was. Fiu told Peseta that it was his sister. Peseta then allegedly told Fiu, “I’ll work it out with the sponsor.”

Fiu told investigators that the reason he called Peseta, was so the couple could be deported to prevent them from filing a complaint against him. Fiu further told investigators that after speaking to Peseta over the phone, the CIO knew that the purpose behind the conversation to deport the couple was to prevent any charges being filed against him by the government.

The couple’s sponsor requested a meeting with Peseta around Nov. 28- 29, 2018, after she (the sponsor) failed in the attempt to quell the foregoing situation by trying to appease the victim by offering her a job and a place of her own.

During the meeting between Peseta and the couple’s sponsor, the sponsor asked Peseta what she needed to do with her sponsorship of the couple. Peseta said, “You need to terminate the sponsorship.”

The sponsor said, “Okay, I have twenty days to do that, right?” Peseta said, “No, they have twenty days to leave, but you have to move fast.”

“Why?” the sponsor asked.

Peseta said, “I talked to your brother (Fiu) and I know what these people are trying to do. They are filing charges against your brother and they have that evil woman (Ipu Lefiti) involved in this.”

The couple’s sponsor wanted to know what was going on with the couple and her brother, but Peseta said, “Ipu … I hate that woman. The couple got her to help them.”

According to the government’s case, the couple’s sponsor responded, “Well, that doesn’t make any difference because I can’t do anything. I really have no money.” Peseta then allegedly told the couple’s sponsor, “Why don’t you do the termination letter right now?”

The sponsor said she didn’t have money to pay for everything and moreover, she didn’t have the couple’s passports with her. Peseta allegedly told the sponsor, “My boys can get the passports and they can get them on the boat without tickets.”

“You can do that, how?” the sponsor asked. Peseta allegedly responded, “Yes, you can pay the government later, just do the letter of termination and we’ll take care of the rest.” The sponsor replied, “No, I don’t what that. I don’t want to owe the government and I don’t want S.T (victim) deported.”

Peseta insisted, “Eh!, just submit the termination letter and we’ll do the rest.”

On the morning of Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, two Immigration Officers (IO) proceeded to Leone to pick up the couple from their home. The couple was staying with their sponsor in Leone.

En route, one of the Immigration officers called the sponsor and asked for the couple. The sponsor needed a “Termination of Sponsorship letter”…”because Peseta wanted it.”

The sponsor told the two IO’s that not only did she not have the couple’s passports, she did not have their tickets, and she told the two IO’s “not to touch them”.

The sponsor told investigators that she intended to acquire a Certificate of Identification (CI) for the couple’s children — born in American Samoa — so they would be able to travel to Upolu.

However, despite the sponsor’s instructions not to touch the couple, the two IO’s arrived at the sponsor’s residence in Leone unannounced and asked the couple to accompany them to the Immigration Office.

The victim-wife told investigators that she didn’t want to go with the IO’s, but was unwilling to express it because she was afraid of them. The two IO’s promised that they were going to take the couple to meet with Peseta and their sponsor, and they would escort the couple back home.

The female victim was picked up from their home in Leone while her husband was picked up from his place of work in Petesa, and both were transported by the two IO’s in the Immigration Office van.

On their way to Utulei, one of the two IO’s called the couple’s sponsor and informed her that they were transporting the couple to the Immigration Office in Utulei. The couple’s sponsor told the two IOs’ that they needed a “Termination Letter” from her before moving forward with the deportation. One of the IO’s allegedly told the sponsor that “this is the Chief’s (Peseta) call.”

The two IO’s along with the couple made a stop at an insurance company in Nuuuli where the sponsor’s daughter is employed. The sponsor had allegedly instructed her daughter to generate a Termination of Sponsorship letter for the couple, and she (sponsor’s daughter) was to sign her name (sponsor) on the document.

The sponsor’s daughter informed her mother that the Termination of Sponsorship letter had to be notarized. The letter was later notarized by a female, a Notary Public employed by the same insurance company.

After receiving the Termination of Sponsorship letter, the two IO’s then proceeded towards town with the couple in their custody. On their way, one of the officer’s phone rang. The phone screen revealed the word “chief” (identifying the caller).

The IO picked up and said in Samoan, “Chief, we are almost at the EOB.” When they got to Matafao, the same phone rang again; and following a brief conversation, the IO told his partner that the “Chief wanted them to take the couple directly to the wharf for deportation.”

The partner inquired about the deportation process, but the IO who spoke to the Chief whispered, “We’re just following orders.”

Rather than proceeding directly to the wharf, the two IO’s and the couple stopped at the EOB for reasons unknown to the couple. The government believes that at some point during that window, Peseta contacted Fiu and informed him that his boys had already picked up the couple from Leone.

(See tomorrow’s edition for more of the government’s case against Peseta, and what allegedly happened when the couple arrived at the Fagatogo wharf).