ni Jasmin Joy Evangelista | April 2, 2022
Umamin ang Los Angeles paralegal na si Maria de Leon na siya ay walong taon nang sangkot sa pamemeke ng kasal at visa kasama ang mga lider ng Kingdom of Jesus Christ Church, ayon sa US Justice Department nitong Biyernes.
Si De Leon ay isa sa siyam na tao — kabilang si Pastor Apollo Quiboloy — na siyang akusado sa pagpapatakbo ng labor-trafficking ring para dalhin ang mga miyembro ng kanilang simbahan sa trabaho na umano’y bogus charity organization na diumano ay pinagmumulan ng marangyang lifestyle ni Quiboloy.
Si Quiboloy ang nagtatag ng Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Sa plea agreement na ipinasa nitong Biyernes, inamin niDe Leon na siya ay “participating for about eight years in the conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and visa fraud with the leaders of the KOJC,” ayon sa pahayag.
Ayon sa US Attorney’s Office sa Central District ng California, umamin si De Leon na “guilty to participating in a conspiracy to violate US immigration laws by preparing and filing fraudulent documents that sought legal permanent residency and citizenship for members of a Philippines-based church who allegedly worked as fundraisers for a bogus charity operated by the church.”
“At the time [De Leon] completed the immigration paperwork for certain KOJC members, [she] knew that the immigration paperwork was based upon false representations of the bona fides of the underlying marriages," dagdag pa ng pahayag.
Nakatakdang mag-schedule ang korte ng hearing para kay De Leon kung saan siya ay pormal na maghahayag ng kanyang guilty plea sa conspiracy count na may limang taong federal prison sentence.
Pumayag din siya na makipag-cooperate sa US government hinggil sa kaso.
Ang hearing para sa 5 iba pang defendants ay naka-schedule sa March 21, 2023, ayon sa
US justice department.
Tumanggi namang magbigay ng pahayag ang American agency hinggil dito.
Samantala, sinabi ni Kingdom of Jesus Christ lawyer Michael Green na si De Leon ay hindi church member.
Ayon pa kay Green, hindi natatakot ang simbahan sa kooperasyon ng paralegal sa US authorities.
“This woman is not a member, she’s not a mean person she got sucked into the indictment, but she knows less than anybody in the case and she apparently knows less than the US attorney’s office. Like I said the US attorney’s office never indicted the children’s charity foundation,” pahayag niya sa isang interview.
“They picked out someone that probably shouldn’t have been indicted anyway ... and it wasn’t for a fraudulent purpose, she may believe it was and what she was charged with and not the way it turned out,” aniya.
“In my view it was something that she probably isn’t guilty of. She may believe she’s guilty, maybe somebody talked her into it, but she doesn’t know the basis of the church and what the vows are.”
Matatandaang noong Nobyembre ay kinasuhan si Quiboloy at dalawa pang opisyal ng simbahan sa pagpapatakbo ng sex-trafficking operations na nambibiktima umano ng mga batang babae edad 12-15.
Nagre-recruit umano ang simbahan ni Quiboloy ng mga babaeng edad 12-25 bilang personal assistants o "pastorals” kung saan kabilang umano sa trabaho nila ang maghanda ng pagkain ni Quiboloy, maglinis ng bahay, magbigay ng masahe at makipagtalik sa self-proclaimed "appointed son of God" na tinatawag nilang "night duty."
Noong Pebrero, napabilang ang pastor sa most wanted list ng US Federal Bureau of Investigation.