Company behind discontinued Saipan casino fails court order compliance

Imperial Pacific International (IPI), the company that ran the failed Imperial Palace casino on the island of Saipan, is having trouble with the law and money. Even though there have been court orders and rulings, IPI seems to ignore its responsibilities.

IPI’s past is full of regulatory and illegal probes that started when it tried to make the casino bigger. It has also not paid the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) or its lawyers. One big problem is that it hasn’t followed a court order about the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

IPI came under fire in April 2019 for not paying its workers enough. As a result, a court ordered it to pay $2.19 million in back wages, damages, and fines. IPI arranged a new deal after falling behind on payments, but it is now again behind and owes about $498,000.

The DOL has filed a default claim against IPI and given them 15 days to pay. If IPI doesn’t follow the court’s order, Hopwood Middle School, which it owns through Green Estate Holdings, could be sold to pay off the debt.

IPI also owes money to Kan Pacific Saipan, a betting company that it forced out of Saipan. Even though a judge ordered IPI to pay $400,000 each year, it hasn’t done so. This affects a deal that calls for a total of $5 million to be paid over 20 years.

In December, a court in the CNMI told IPI to pay Kan Pacific $697,801.30 plus interest. IPI did not do this. Kan Pacific has tried to join a process called “receivership” to get its money back, but IPI’s financial problems may make this hard to do.

Overall, IPI’s ongoing legal and financial problems, such as not paying its workers, breaking court orders, and having bills it hasn’t paid, make it hard to know if it will be able to meet its responsibilities and keep doing business in Saipan.

Related Article: Saipan’s Imperial Palace Casino Has Break-In, Thieves Don’t Get Far

Original story by: Casino.org