Guam senator in Shriners during time of alleged illegal conspiracy

Sen. Joe San Agustin was one of the few members of the Guam Shrine Club at the height of an alleged illegal gambling and money laundering conspiracy involving the local non-profit organization and its bingo operation at the Guam Greyhound Park. Mr. San Agustin has not responded to any of a series of questions Kandit has asked him about his membership and any involvement or knowledge he had of the conspiracy.

On June 10, a federal grand jury indicted seven people – six of whom were associated with the Guam Shrine Club, including three of its officers – for 63 counts of federal crimes ranging from illegal gambling to money laundering, and conspiring to commit these crimes. They each face more than 1,200 years in prison if convicted on all counts of the indictment.

The charges stem from an alleged conspiracy that occurred between March 2015 and December 31, 2021, when those charged “and others known to the grand jury,” plotted to enrich themselves off bingo proceeds that should have gone instead to help children in need of medical surgery at the Shriners Hospital in Honolulu. According to the indictment, during the period of the conspiracy, funds raised in the name of the Guam Shrine Club reached $34 million, more than 90 percent of which did not go to the Shriners’ aid of children.

“It was the object of the conspiracy for the defendants to unjustly enrich themselves AND OTHERS by operating an illegal gambling business under the guise oF charitable and civic fundraising,” the indictment states (emphasis added).

While researching the activities of the Guam Shrine Club during the period of the conspiracy, Kandit came across a photo published by Pacific News Center, which shows Mr. San Agustin in Shriners regalia, and names him as a Shriner in a photo dated March 31, 2020.

The photo was taken in front of the Hafa Adai Bingo operation at the Guam Greyhound Park. Both the operation and the establishment are named in the indictment.

“Were you aware of the conspiracy?” Kandit asked Mr. San Agustin via email. “If so, did you do anything to stop the conspiracy?”

He did not answer the questions. Neither did he answer when he became a Shriner, and whether he still is one.

However, according to the photo, he was indeed a Shriner at the time of the alleged conspiracy. And, according to the indictment, others aside from the seven indicted defendants operated the illegal gambling business.

“It was part of the conspiracy that defendants … AND OTHERS operated an illegal gambling business using the name of GSC and its Hafa Adai Bingo’s nonprofit status and bingo permits, so it would appear to the public and law enforcement agencies that Hafa Adai Bingo’s fundraising activities were being conducted in compliance with Guam gambling laws,” the indictment states (emphasis added).

Mr. San Agustin is no stranger to gambling and its regulations. Prior to being elected senator, he was compliance officer at the Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation, and was involved in the regulation of gambling activities on the island, including the bingo permits.

A series of federal criminal court cases surround the June 10 indictment of the seven, and are all sealed. Court observers believe other actors have or will be indicted for the period of the alleged conspiracy, and for the bingo operations that continued after December 31, 2021 and through the week prior to Typhoon Mawar.

Kandit further asked Mr. San Agustin, “Were you questioned by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, or any federal law enforcement regarding the Guam Shrine Club or either Hafa Adai Bingo or [names redacted]?” He did not respond.

“The defendants, Michael L. Marasigan, Art Chan, Alfredo D. Leon Guerrero, Christine C. Chan, Juanita Capulong, Minda C. San Nicolas, and Richard C. Brown,” the indictment states, “did knowingly and willfully combine, conspire, and agree with each other AND WITH PERSONS KNOWN AND UNKNOWN TO THE GRAND JURY, to conduct, finance, manage, supervise, direct, and own all of part of an illegal gambling business involving bingo games sponsored by the GSC.” (emphasis added)

The GSC is known to have very few members. All its officers except for its treasurer were included in the unsealed indictment.

Kandit pressed for answers from the senator: “As a member of the club, and – as the picture shows – a member aware of the financial resources of the Shriners and the operation of the bingo (the picture was taken outside the Hafa Adai Bingo premises), did you ever question the bingo operation proceeds versus the proceeds being donated to the Shriners? Did you ever wonder why the Guam Shrine Club was paid so little from the bingo proceeds compared to what the gross proceeds obviously were amounting to?”

The senator did not respond.

The indictment repeats allegations of the conspiracy for one count of money laundering conspiracy, and 61 counts of money laundering. The money laundering conspiracy also bears the language “with each other and with other persons, known and unknown to the Grand Jury.”