Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — American Samoa Telecommunications Authority (ASTCA) CEO Folasaitu Sorepa Thomas faced direct questioning on Monday morning during the Fono’s joint budget hearing regarding the controversial child support payment made on behalf of former CEO Chuck Leota using ASTCA funds. She further notes what led to the former board’s dissolution.

The issue of Leota’s reported severance package surfaced only minutes earlier during a separate hearing of the Senate Government Operations Committee, where current and former ASTCA board members testified about ASTCA’s spending during the American250 celebrations. Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean raised the child support matter again, prompting a detailed explanation from the CEO during the joint hearing.

During the earlier Senate hearing, former board vice chair Ella Gurr told lawmakers that Leota’s child support obligation had been discussed at board level, but the majority of the board did not support paying it, and the matter was tabled.

Gurr said the ASTCA CEO later went directly to the Governor for approval, and the board only learned afterward that the payment had been authorized.

When the joint budget hearing convened, Tuaolo questioned CEO Folasaitu directly. She appeared alongside Acting Board Chairman Omar Shalhout and Senior Finance Officer Fatuoaiga to present ASTCA’s budget.

Folasaitu explained that Leota’s employment contract as CEO included a clause stating that if he were terminated without cause, he would be entitled to one year’s salary as severance.

She explained that the Governor removed Leota from his position as CEO in order to appoint a new leader from within the administration. 

However, afterward, the ASTCA Board rehired Leota as Chief Operations Officer, placing him under career service status. His new employment contract was signed by then‑chairman Avamua Dave Haleck and ASTCA legal counsel William Ledoux.

Folasaitu said the board exceeded its legal authority by bringing Leota back as COO. She clarified that the executive order establishing ASTCA limits the board’s hiring role to recommending and selecting the CEO. Every other position within the agency, she said, falls under the CEO’s exclusive hiring authority, meaning the board had no jurisdiction to appoint Leota to the COO role.

Folasaitu also referred to a letter she submitted to the High Court of American Samoa, outlining why ASTCA issued a check to cover Leota’s personal child support obligation. In that letter, she noted that the Board initially offered Leota the COO position instead of paying out his severance.

Leota later asked for his full severance amount — $135,000 — to settle a child support debt owed to California under the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.

He told ASTCA that he had agreed to waive his severance “under pressure and haste” during the leadership transition.

Folasaitu said the issue was brought to the Board in September 2025, and members requested more internal review. Leota then met with the Governor on November 13, 2025, and she met with the Governor a few days later, around November 17, to discuss the request.

She said the Governor asked her to support the payout, citing the circumstances of Leota’s departure as CEO.

At Monday’s joint budget hearing, Folasaitu restated that she told the Governor that, “I will not do this because you have instructed me, but because it is the law.”

ASTCA ultimately issued a check for $110,692.40 straight to the District Court of American Samoa to cover the URESA‑mandated child support payment owed by former CEO Chuck Leota. According to documents filed with the court, the rest of Leota’s $135,000 severance entitlement would not be paid out and was formally forfeited.

CEO Folasaitu explained that the agency deliberately chose to send the funds directly to the court rather than to Leota. She said this approach ensured full transparency, created an indisputable paper trail, and prevented any questions or speculation about how ASTCA handled the transaction.

Addressing questions about the A250 expenditures, Folasaitu explained that the event was financed through ASTCA’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget category for Inventory for Resale and Corporate Events. That category carried a total of $3.5 million, with $900,000 earmarked for corporate events.

She reported that ASTCA spent $371,000 of its own funds on the A‑250 celebrations — an amount she said fell well within the approved corporate events budget. According to her estimates, the overall cost of the celebrations reached $1.1 million. Of that total, $200,000 was drawn from opioid settlement funds, based on a funding request she submitted to the Governor’s Office. The remainder of the expenses, she said, was paid by The Reid Group, which partnered with ASTCA on the event.

Rep. Trude Ledoux‑Sunia pressed Folasaitu on why ASTCA committed $1.1 million to such an elaborate A250 celebration, noting that the event cost significantly more than the government’s traditional Flag Day program. 

Folasaitu explained that the Lemanu administration had established an A250 planning committee through executive order, but the committee never produced a formal plan. With no coordinated government program in place, ASTCA adopted the A250 theme as a marketing and promotional campaign, which drove much of the spending.

"So we used the opportunity to use the A250 title to promote for the month of July," Folasaitu explained. "We did not spend the $1.1 million as I mentioned, that's the total cost which includes funds from our partnership with the Reid Group. So technically, we only spent $371,00 total contribution from what was authorized and appropriated by the Fono. We were authorized $900,00 for corporate events, but the total money that we spent for the A-250 was $300,00.So we still are within what's authorized by the Fono. The rest of the money was already paid for by either revenue with half paid for by our partnership with the Reid Group."

Rep. Trude Ledoux‑Sunia pressed Folasaitu on whether the $1.1 million spent on the A250 celebrations had produced any measurable financial benefit for ASTCA. She noted that the proposed budget shows a 17% drop in subscribers, even as personnel expenses continue to climb.

Folasaitu explained that the subscriber numbers in the budget are projections, not actual counts, and said ASTCA has never met the subscriber targets listed in previous annual budgets. This year’s forecast is 18,000 subscribers. She added that ASTCA’s revenues are being used within the territory, pointing to a recent $2 million payment to the American Samoa Economic Development Administration and the full repayment of the $11 million loan owed to the Government Employees Retirement Fund.

She also submitted detailed documentation of A250 spending for lawmakers to review.

Senate President Tuaolo asked Folasaitu whether she had gone to the Governor claiming the ASTCA Board was trying to remove her. Folasaitu said she had not. 

She explained that she had been subpoenaed by the Senate to testify about the A250 celebrations but was preparing to travel to Washington, D.C. The Senate later subpoenaed the ASTCA Board, and she handed the spending reports to then‑acting chairman Maota Alex Sene.

During the budget hearing, Folasaitu said she believes that once the budget is approved, the CEO has full authority to carry out spending as outlined in the budget. She said the ASTCA Board disagreed, insisting that the CEO should return to the board for approval of spending details even after the budget is finalized. 

Folasaitu said she did not think that was appropriate. Although she prepared the requested reports, continued disagreements among board members ultimately led to the board’s dissolution.