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Former Executive’s Greed Lands 14 Months Behind Bars
In a shocking display of entitlement, Mine S. Pase, the former executive director of the American Samoa Special Services Commission, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for conspiracy to steal more than $325,000 in AmeriCorps grant funds.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton for the District of Columbia handed down the sentence, which will be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Walton also ordered Pase to pay $325,408 in restitution, a paltry sum considering the gravity of her crimes.
Pase, who served as the Commission’s executive director from March 2001 to October 2010, pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging her with conspiracy to commit theft of federal funds on November 18, 2011.
According to court documents, Pase and her cohorts stole the funds by arranging for themselves and their relatives to receive payments for fake business trips, vacation trips to Apia, Western Samoa, meals, a bogus car lease agreement, and the use of damaged office space.
The scheme, which took place from January 2007 to October 2010, netted Pase and her relatives a staggering $123,236, leaving the Commission and its programs to suffer the consequences.
The case against Pase arose from an investigation by the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Office of Inspector General, which resulted in the Commission’s federal funding being terminated and its shutdown.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Edward J. Loya Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, with assistance from special agents of the Corporation for National and Community Service OIG and the FBI-Honolulu Division, American Samoa Resident Agency.
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Public Corruption|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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