Officials in Saipan, part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), have unsealed indictments against executives of Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International. The indictments, filed in August 2019, alleged that Liwen “Peter” Wu, Jianmen Xu and Yan Shi conspired to employ workers almost exclusively from China instead of hiring U.S. citizens, in violation of rules established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The CNMI is a U.S. territory.
A total of 71 charges related to construction of IPI’s Imperial Palace Saipan include one count of RICO conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, 32 counts of harboring illegal aliens, 32 counts of unlawful employment of aliens and five counts of international promotional money laundering, reported Inside Asian Gaming.
Wu and Xu are senior executives of IPI. Shi is a supervisor for MCC International Saipan Ltd., a subsidiary of China Metallurgical Group Corp. Two of four unnamed and unindicted co-conspirators are also said to be senior IPI executives.
Wu and Xu “implicitly and explicitly ordered MCC CNMI to hire unauthorized alien workers” illegally importing hundreds of Chinese workers, some of them unskilled, the indictment alleges.
“Female employees posed as the illegal foreign workers’ spouses or girlfriends in exchange for paid vacations to the CNMI,” the indictment continues. “In addition to reimbursing MCC CNMI and other contractors for the illegal workers’ salaries, IPI defendants also purchased plane tickets and paid other expenses for the illegal workers and their fake spouses or girlfriends.” The workers were reportedly paid in cash or by bank transfer to accounts in mainland China.
The company also tried to conceal the workers from safety inspectors, created a “worksite environment with a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.”
IPI has been in turmoil in recent months, failing to pay its bills or meet payroll. It is being sued by several contractors who say they were unpaid. The firm recently appointed a new CEO and is attempting to find new investors.
