A Superior Court of Guam grand jury has handed down indictments against at least a handful of employees at Guam Homeland Security/ Office of Civil Defense.

KUAM confirms the indictments came down late Tuesday against five employees.

Marie Elizabeth T. Quenga is charged with tampering with public records as a third-degree felony, certifying officer malfeasance, and official misconduct as misdemeanors, all with a special allegation of crime against the community. 

Patrick T. Leon Guerrero, Joel R. Valenzuela, and Michael U. Taijeron are each charged with certifying officer malfeasance and official misconduct as misdemeanors with special allegations of crime against the commmunity.

Charles V. Esteves is charged with certifying officer malfeasance as a misdemeanor and two counts of official misconduct as a misdemeanor, both with special allegations of crime against the community.

KUAM has requested the public documents from the Judiciary of Guam and the Office of the Attorney General.

The case is linked to two alarming audits conducted against the agency by the Office of Public Accountability.

The investigation in one audit released in June 2024 revealed $8.4 million in federal reimbursements had not been received by the general fund.

The second audit released in Dec. 2024 uncovered millions in unauthorized overtime.

The Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense (GHS-OCD) are aware of the indictments. As this pertains to personnel matters, we are limited in what we can share at this time. The Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense remain committed to upholding the integrity of our mission and the public trust we serve.

No further comment will be made while the matter proceeds through the appropriate legal channels.

A statement from Senator Shawn Gumataotao on the recent criminal indictments of employees of the Office of Civil Defense:

“We live in a Country of laws. People are innocent until proven guilty. This development is yet another example of the erosion of credibility of the Government of Guam with our federal partners. We must do better in all of our respective roles. I ask the Office of the Governor of Guam to intervene and ensure that federal funds to our key emergency management agency is not further compromised.”