By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
CLARISSA Adlawan entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and to money laundering conspiracy, as charged in Counts 1 and 7 of the indictment, at a change of plea hearing in federal court on Tuesday.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI found Adlawan fully competent to enter a knowing and voluntary plea.
Adlawan, represented by attorney Mark Scoggins, requested that the conditions of his client’s release be modified by converting the $9,000 bond to an unsecured bond. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley did not object to the request.
Scoggins also requested that the conditions of Adlawan’s release be further modified to allow his client to sell a property located in the Philippines to facilitate restitution payments.
Judge Manglona noted that once the preliminary order of forfeiture is entered, the clerks will file the victim’s petition, as the petition appears to assert an interest in the seized property.
The judge deferred ruling on the request to permit the property sale but granted the motion to modify the conditions of release, converting the remaining unpaid $9,000 to an unsecured bond.
Adlawan and her daughter, Giselle Butalid, a former employee of the CNMI Public School System, were indicted in August on multiple counts, including conspiracy, theft of federal funds, money laundering, and structuring financial transactions. The indictment outlines a complex scheme that allegedly siphoned tens of thousands of dollars in federal education funds from PSS.
Butalid pled guilty on Oct. 22 to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to theft and money laundering conspiracy, as charged in Counts 1 and 7 of a federal indictment.
Both Adlawan and Butalid, who are on conditional release, are scheduled to be sentenced on March 6, 2026, at 9 a.m.
According to the indictment, from November 2021 to December 2022, Butalid and Adlawan laundered proceeds through financial transactions designed to conceal their origin and avoid reporting requirements. Funds were also transferred from the United States to the Philippines. Some of the laundered money was used to purchase luxury items, including handbags and jewelry, which were seized by federal authorities in August 2025.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
