A former employee of the Attorney General’s Office, Loimata Savea, has been charged with stealing, embezzlement and public servant acceding to corruption for allegedly receiving money from a woman who requested OK boards for her children to travel from Apia on the repatriation flights.
After hearing an announcement that American Samoa residents who were stuck in Samoa could return to the territory through repatriation flights, Mrs Fuefuealii Lomiga visited the Attorney General’s Office to inquire. She needed OK Boards for 7 family members who were in Samoa.
It’s alleged that Savea told Mrs Lomiga that the charge for an OK Board per person was $50 and that instead of providing travel documents for her family members to the Attorney General’s Office, she can send them via Facebook messenger.
On June 19 the woman received a call from Savea stating that the Ok Boards were ready and she needed to make the payment.
Mrs Lomiga went to the AGs office and met with Savea who told her to wait while she asks another employee for a discount. A few minutes later Savea returned and told Mrs Lomiga that her request for a discount had been approved and the cost was now $250.
Mrs Lomiga handed over three, $100 bills, whereupon Savea walked to the Revenue window and handed over a $100 note to the cashier to break.
The defendant then handed Mrs Lomiga $50 and she was rewarded with a $20 tip.
There was no receipt for the payment but Mrs Lomiga received the OK Boards a few days later.
Mrs Lomiga told police that she needed assistance to bring more family members from Apia and went back to the AG’s Office.
While in the waiting area she overhead employees mention that OK Boards were free of charge for the repatriation flights.
She then filed a complaint. Investigators of the Attorney General’s Office viewed footage dated June 19 at 12:44pm from the Revenue Office surveillance camera which showed Savea standing at the window and handing over something to the Clerk and being handed something back by the clerk.
On July 12, a letter of termination was served to Savea citing that she had accepted a substantial payment from a member of the public to perform her regular duties, a criminal act. Savea was still on probation so she was not entitled to a hearing.
The case was turned over to police and during an interview with Savea she said that the cost of OK Board used to be $50, before they were waived for the repatriation flights?
She admitted that she told Lomiga it was $50 but instead of paying $350 for 7 people Lomiga was bringing from Samoa, she told her to pay only $250.
She claimed that after she received the money she felt bad knowing what she did was wrong.
She told police the following day she contacted Lomiga and told her the money will be returned since the OK Boards are free.
Savea believed that Lomiga should have contacted her before filing a complaint because she had helped her in the past with travel.
She added that she will pay back Lomiga’s money when she gets paid on July 20th.
Savea, whose bail was set at $10,000, made her initial appearance in District Court Wednesday and faces a preliminary examination next Thurday.
