2 Gen. Garcia sons plead guilty to cash smuggling

Two sons of a former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) comptroller accused of amassing ill-gotten wealth on Wednesday pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling at least $100,000 into the United States. Ian Carl, 32 and Juan Paulo, 29, separately entered a guilty plea before the US District Court of San Francisco through their private lawyers. The case stemmed from the Garcia brothers’ failure to declare to US customs officers that they were carrying $50,000 each when they arrived at the San Francisco International Airport in December 2003. The hearing was set for November 29 and if found guilty, the two will face such penalties as a maximum of 60 months of imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 each, and supervised release for a maximum of three years. Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the San Francisco court accepted the Garcia brothers’ guilty pleas. Ian Carl and Juan Paolo are sons of former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, whose entire family was charged with violation of a Philippine law, Section 4(a) of RA 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act. (See: Ex-AFP comptroller Garcia, family charged with money laundering) This was after Philippine graft investigators found out that the Garcias have a total deposit of P303.27 million and withdrawal of P73 million and $967,215.99 in at least 10 banks, which they said constituted “unlawful activity" punishable under RA 9160 because the funds involved were proceeds of plunder. In March this year, the older Garcia pleaded not guilty to the money laundering charges lodged against him before the Second Division of the Sandiganbayan, the Philippine anti-graft court. Ian Carl and Juan Paulo are due back in court for their extradition case before U.S. Court District Judge Edward M. Chen in San Francisco, while another son, Timothy Mark, is due in court for his extradition conference hearing on Oct. 14, 2010 before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell of the Southern District of New York. Timothy Mark made some waves in September last year, when he was interviewed by The Daily Beast about his lavish lifestyle while under house arrest. He was clad "head-to-toe" in designer clothes during the entire interview, which was conducted in his plush New York apartment. (See: Son of ex-general Garcia lives in style despite US house arrest) The extradition of their mother Clarita is meanwhile pending before Judge George Caram Steeh of the US District Court of Eastern Michigan in Detroit. Ian Karl, employee of retail Game Stop, and Juan Paulo, computer help desk technician, were arrested in 2003 while they were trying to bring into the US $100,000 in cash. They were charged with smuggling when they failed to declare to the San Francisco airport customs inspector the $100,000 in their possession. Under US policies, a traveler cannot bring in money worth $10,000 or more without declaring it to customs authorities. Subsequent investigation showed that Juan Paulo carried approximately $50,000 concealed in envelopes inside a jacket in his carry-on luggage. Ian Carl also carried approximately $50,000, concealed in envelopes inside a pair of shoes in his carry-on luggage and in the inner pocket of his carry-on luggage. Mrs. Garcia was likewise arrested in Pontiac, Michigan on March 4 this year on extradition charges for plunder. Garcia and members of his family were charged with plunder, an unbailable offense, before the Sandiganbayan in 2005. Garcia was accused of amassing ill-gotten wealth in the form of funds, landholdings and other real and personal properties in the amount of over P303 million deemed to be “disproportionate" his legitimate income. Except for the retired major general, all members of the Garcia family are US citizens, which allegedly made it easier for them to take their money to the US and acquire real estate properties. Ian Carl and Juan Paulo were temporarily released in June last year after posting a $1-M bond each, according to court records. Their mother Clarita was likewise released and placed under house arrest after posting $20,000 cash bond in June last year. The Garcia brothers originally entered a not guilty plea before the same court in March 2009. (See: Update: 2 Garcia sons enter not guilty plea before US court) In March this year, Garcia pleaded not guilty to the money laundering charge filed against him and his family by the Office of the Ombudsman last year. A plunder case was likewise filed against him in 2005, still pending before the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division. Garcia remains in detention at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame.—JMA/JV, GMANews.TV