Financial Crime World

Title: Three Defendants Sentenced for Conspiring to Rig Bids in Northern Mariana Islands: A $200,000 Scam

Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands

USAO-GUam and NMI, Shawn N. Anderson, the United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced sentences for three defendants involved in a bid-rigging conspiracy that cost taxpayers over $200,000.

Defendants and Sentences

  • Thomas E. Marler, 62, of Piti, Guam: 12-month prison term, 2 years of supervised release, $20,000 fine, $300 special assessment fee, Conspiracy to Restrain Trade, Money Laundering, and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering.
  • John H. “Bart” Lawrence, 62, of Gresham, Oregon: 4 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release, $4,000 fine, $200 special assessment fee, Conspiracy to Restrain Trade, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.
  • Jayanika Lawrence, 33, of Gresham, Oregon: 1-year probation, $25 special assessment fee, Unlawfully Cutting Trees on United States Lands (not part of the bid-rigging conspiracy).

The Conspiracy

The conspiracy occurred between November 2014 and June 2015. Thomas Marler, who served as a Professor at the University of Guam (UOG) and Principal Investigator for certain cooperative agreements, manipulated UOG’s procurement process. He awarded project work to:

  1. Isla Paraiso - a company he controlled, and
  2. Sansar Consulting - where Jayanika Lawrence and John Lawrence were partners.

Bypassing the competitive bidding process, they denied opportunities to honest businesses and cost taxpayers over $200,000.

Defendants’ Misdeeds

Thomas Marler

Anderson commented, “A fair and competitive bidding process is essential for maintaining fairness and ensuring taxpayers receive the best value for the money they invest in government-funded projects. These defendants undermined that process to their benefit and at the expense of UOG.”

FBI’s Remarks

Steven Merrill, FBI Special Agent in Charge, added, “Thomas Marler’s actions violated the trust placed in him by the University of Guam and Department of the Navy. He manipulated the contract process illegally to benefit his own company and his co-conspirators.”

IRS-CI’s Perspective

Bret Kressin, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge, stated, “This case highlights how those motivated by greed can unfairly profit from the hard work of honest businesses and deprive the community of fair competition.”

Collaborative Effort

The investigation was led by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin K. Petersburg.