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Former Customs supervisor gets 28 months for embezzling ASG money

Former Customs Office supervisor, Sefulu Maifea making his way to the TCF van after he was sentenced by the court to serve 28 months in jail for stealing over $11,000 from the American Samoa Government. [photo: AF]
His parents apologized to everyone in the ASG chain of command
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The former Customs Office supervisor who breached the trust of the American Samoa Government (ASG) when he embezzled over $11,000 he was supposed to deposit with the Treasury Department — is going to jail.

Sefulu Maifea was sentenced by the High Court last week to serve 28 months at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF), as a condition of a 7-year probation sentence.

The 48-year-old appeared for sentencing last Friday.

Prosecuting the case was Assistant Attorney General Woodrow Pengelly while Acting Public Defender Michael White represented the defendant.

When given the chance to address the court, Maifea apologized to “all the people he loves” including his elderly parents, daughter, family, church and village — he did not apologize to the ASG.

“Your honor, I made a terrible mistake which hurt the people I love so much, including my elderly parents, my family, church, and my village. I’m not proud of what I did but I’m proud because I learned a lot from it. I feel remorseful, ashamed and sorry for what I did. I apologize to the court for my actions and I ask for a second chance to continue my service to my parents and my 4-year-old daughter,” Maifea said, whose parents were present in court during sentencing.

Maifea's mother, called to testify on his behalf, was in tears and begged the court to give her son another chance so he can care for them.

According to the mother’s testimony, Maifea is the 2nd of 8 children, and he's the only child living with them on island. The rest live off island with their families.

The mother told the court they were shocked to hear that their son was arrested for taking money from the government, something they did not think he would do.

According to her, these things occurred when she and her husband were off island for her husband’s medical appointments last year.

The mother said when they asked Maifea about what happened, he apologized to them and said he only took $3,379

“After speaking with our son, we then went to the Treasurer and apologized to him on behalf of our son. We also went to the Chief of Customs and apologized to him. We indicated to him that we’re willing to pay back the money our son used,” the mother said, adding that they didn't stop there, as they went a step further and asked Gov. Lolo and Lt. Gov. Lemanu to forgive their son for what he did.

“The governor then called the Treasurer, the AG (Attorney General) and the DHR (Director of Human Resources), and advised them to make sure our son’s name stays in the government system. He also advised them to do something to make sure the system shows that our son properly retired, instead of terminating his service,” said the tearful mother.

She told the court that her husband is very old, and Sefulu is her right hand in family affairs, he cares for them and she wants him to continue doing just that.

White told the court his client is prepared to pay $5,000 in restitution, and the remaining balance will be paid throughout the period of probation.

Prosecutor Pengelly on the other hand argued that the defendant breached the government's trust by committing the crime of embezzlement.

He further stated that what Maifea did is proof that he has no respect for the law, as this is not the first time he's been convicted for a criminal act. A few years ago, according to the government, Maifea was convicted three times for driving under the influence (DUI), and two times for third degree assault.

“He stole money from his own government and his own people,” Pengelly continued.

The prosecutor asked the court to sentence Maifea to 7 years probation under the condition that he serves 24 months in detention and pay restitution of $11,516.98

During sentencing, Kruse pointed out that Maifea was arrested while employed by the Customs Office as a supervisor, and where he was entrusted with depositing fees collected from the airport — mainly money people pay for their bags and cargo.

“We found from the pre-sentencing report that the defendant didn’t deposit all the money he received, money that was supposed to go straight to the government. He returned some of it to Treasury but he kept some of it for himself."

 “We don’t know exactly the amount of money that was stolen, but pursuant to a plea agreement with the government, he took about $3,300. However, according to the report Probation got from the machine where these monies were recorded at the airport, the real amount is over $11,000.”

Notwithstanding the plea submission made on his behalf, Kruse said they also are taking into account Maifea’s statement and also his mother's testimony.

“In front of us is his impressive history of employment. He started in the Navy, and now with the ASG for 26 years. Also before us is his criminal record. He has assault convictions and also DUI convictions, and Probation tells us that for all of these misdemeanor convictions, the defendant received probated sentences,” Kruse said.

Any situation like this, according to the court, is a hardship to the victim — which in this case is the government — and also the family of the defendant.

Despite the hardships to his family, the court echoed what the government alluded to — not only a chance to look at ways to protect society from these types of criminal actions, but also sending a strong message to other Customs agents to do the right thing.

Maifea was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. However, execution of the sentence is suspended, and he is placed on probation for 7 years under certain conditions, which include 28 months behind bars at the TCF, without any release whatsoever, and he is not eligible for trustee status.

Once he serves 6 months, the court will entertain a motion for work release, granted that Maifea obtains gainful employment. He is also ordered to pay restitution of $11,500 to ASG, payable to the Clerk of the Court.

Accompanying Kruse during sentencing were Judges Mamea Sala Jr. and Muasau Tofili.