Alleged Marcos general’s daughter, husband get 90 months in US jail

CHICAGO, Illinois – Using high-tech PowerPoint presentation, Rebecca “Ishihama" M. Solomon, the alleged daughter of a Marcos general, and her husband, Terry R. Solomon, were able to get the governor of Jeelin province in China to pitch for their telecommunications hardware in China. The couple also got former US military general and former presidential candidate Wesley Clark and a host of high officials to pitch for their telecommunications hardware in China and collect millions of dollars in investments that ended up in their own pockets. Mahbub “Mark" Rahman, one of the “investors," who fall prey to the Solomons schemes, was in near tears when interviewed by this reporter shortly after Judge Jeremy Fogel of the United States District Court of Northern California in San Jose on Wednesday sentenced the Solomons to 90 months in prison. Judge Fogel also set the restitution hearing within 90 days. “The Solomons should be sentenced to life, not 90 months," said Rahman, who lost $1.3 million to the Solomon couple. “When they took my money away, they also took my life away," he said. Rahman said the money he invested with the Solomons for the New Century International Leasing (NCIL), a leasing company dealing in telecommunication hardware in China, was sourced from the equity of his house and he collected the rest from his other friends. “At first," Rahman told Judge Fogel, “when I got my first $25,000 to $50,000 check as 20% of my first returns of investment, I thought I was involved in a good business. “But when no check arrived after a few months that was the only time that I realized that I was taken for a ride. I have no idea now if I can still recover my $1.3-M investment I gave away to them," he said. Rahman was one of the five victims asked by Judge Fogel to make a statement during the sentencing of the Solomons. The other victim was Nancy Bocian, who was crying, as she lost $400,000 to the Solomons. She said she withdrew her IRA (Individual Retirement Account) so she could invest with them. Bocian, a sales loan consultant, said because she prematurely withdrew her retirement benefits, she will now owe $275,000 in taxes. She said authorities should also go after one of the daughters of the Solomons. The daughter is working with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The daughters were among the main beneficiaries of money the Solomons took away from “investors." Judge Fogel tore up the plea agreement the Solomons signed last September 26 with Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey D. Nedrow, which provided a minimum of “78 months imprisonments, five years of supervised release, no fine, $300 special assessment and restitution to be determined by the Court." Fogel instead “increased their imprisonment to 90 months and set for a restitution hearing of the case." In setting aside the plea agreement, Fogel told the couple he was imposing a longer prison term for them because “you have committed the most callous conduct in a white collar crime I’ve ever seen." They were given credit for their time served and ordered not to engage in any financing and other business again. When asked to speak up, the Solomons each briefly uttered, “I am sorry, your honor." Confidence-building Boasting to some of the victims that she was a daughter of a Filipino general under President Ferdinand Marcos and had a large stake in a $1.2-billion family trust in the Philippines and being a former husband of a Japanese royalty, Rebecca Solomon and her husband, Terry R. Solomon, were able to collect an estimated $20 million from friends and acquaintances whom they asked to invest in a telecommunication hardware in China and in an expensive diamond. Pretending to own a pricy home at 185 Gilmartin Drive, Tiburon, California, which the couple was actually renting for $20,000 a month, the Solomons would invite their prospective “investors" and show off their opulent lifestyles to impress upon them that they were very rich. As soon as the couple gained the confidence of their prospects, they would invite their prospects back to their home and pitch their telecommunication hardware and diamond schemes. In the plea agreement, the Solomons pleaded guilty to Count One, conspiracy to commit mail and wire frauds; Count 20, engaging in wire fraud; and Count 42, engaging in “monetary transactions with funds derived from a specific unlawful activity." They fled their luxurious “Mediterranean-style chateau" in Tiburon, home to the country’s rich-and-famous, shortly before the federal authorities raided their home, which reportedly once was home to Hollywood actor Eddie Murphy. During the raid, authorities confiscated their 2005 Maybach 57 and 2006 Hummer 2 automobiles, 2003 Harley Davidson Motorcycle, jewelry and their residence, $35,200 in US currency and other foreign currencies. Rahman believes the properties confiscated by the authorities from the Solomons would not be enough to cover the $15 million to $20 million the couple stole from “investors." The couple were arrested in the Philippines in 2007. Rahman said Rebecca, 51, is from the Philippines while Terry, 60, is from India. Both are US citizens. Claiming to have “special, inside information about purchasing a very large, valuable, flawless diamond on the wholesale market" that could pitch for “$68-M," the Solomons were able to collect $4 million in 2004 to “purchase" and resell the diamond “in Japan," which would “require $5-M to cover the security and delivery costs." They never purchased the “138-carat diamond" and used the money instead for their own purposes. (Ronnie M. Estrada contributed to this report from San Jose)