Staff Reports
The latest chapter in the Guam bingo fraud saga landed with real teeth this week. Federal prosecutors announced final prison sentences for people who stole more than $10 million from a charity bingo operation that was supposed to help sick children get to Shriners Hospitals in Hawaii. The U.S. Attorney’s Office handed down months-long sentences and ordered more than $10.7 million in joint restitution — and one ringleader was sentenced in absentia while still on the run. It’s justice, but it also raises hard questions about oversight and who watches the watchdogs.
Sentences, fines, and a hard number donors should remember
Here are the facts no one can sugarcoat: Jose Arthur D. “Art” Chan Jr. got 60 months behind bars. His wife, Christine C. Chan, received 70 months. Michael L. Marasigan, the alleged ringleader who fled before sentencing, was hit with a 262‑month sentence in absentia. Together they were ordered to pay $10,750,804 in restitution to the Aloha Shriners, plus large forfeiture judgments. That restitution figure is the heart of the story — it’s the money that was supposed to help children, not pad private bank accounts.
How the Hafa Adai Bingo scam worked
Prosecutors say the Hafa Adai Bingo operation, run under the Guam Shrine Club name, took in roughly $34 million in gross bingo proceeds between 2015 and 2021. But instead of using the money to fly sick kids and a parent to treatment in Hawaii, the defendants diverted and laundered about $10.75 million for themselves. In plain English: they turned charity bingo into a private ATM. A few small payments went to the Aloha Shriners early on, but by 2021 the records show none of the proceeds went to the charity’s stated mission. That is more than careless bookkeeping — it’s theft from a trusting community.
The fugitive, the FBI, and why accountability matters
One ugly detail that won’t go away is Michael Marasigan’s flight. The FBI has him on a wanted poster and believes he fled to the Philippines. Sentencing a man while he’s at large sends a message, but it’s no substitute for putting him in a cell and clawing back what he stole. Law enforcement can be praised for tracking this down and prosecuting the case, but there’s a larger lesson here: charities need stronger controls and donors need plain, public accounting. If we want people to give, we must insist their gifts actually reach the kids they’re meant to help.
This outcome is a reminder that greed hides behind good deeds sometimes, and the consequences should be swift and certain. Federal prosecutors did their job — now civic leaders and donors must do theirs. Tighten oversight, demand transparent audits, and let local communities know that when charity fails, both the law and public pressure will bring it back in line. The kids who needed those flights deserve nothing less.
