Chief Justice Michael Kruse denied a defense motion to release a woman charged with forgery so she can be with her young children.
Sosefina Paselio and Ula Fruen were in court this morning for their pre-trial conference. They are charged with forging a false marriage certificate for tax purposes.
Assistant Public Defender Terry Lovelace asked that Paselio be released as she has three young children whom she hasn’t seen since she was arrested on April 23. Lovelace said Paselio has already surrendered all her travel documents and she's not a flight risk.
Chief Justice Michael Kruse denied the motion saying that Paselio is being held on a forgery count which constitutes a dishonest act. He said the court is not satisfied she's not a flight risk.
Fruean and Paselio were remanded back to custody and are scheduled to be back in court on July 13th for plea agreements.
According to the government's case, Fruean and Paselio admitted they had signed a fake marriage certificate created by Sylvia Alaia, a friend of Paselio. Alaia confessed that she made a copy of her own marriage certificate and altered it to be the marriage certificate of Fruean and Paselio. Alaia's case is still pending in the high court.
