NEW YORK — Guia Cabactulan, one of the administrators of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) in Los Angeles, California, has been sentenced to six months in prison for Count 7 of the first superseding indictment, which pertains to visa fraud.
According to court documents obtained by GMA Integrated News, Judge Terry Hatter Jr. of the United States District Court, Central District of California, ordered Cabactulan to be placed in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to serve six months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release.
Cabactulan was among those arrested during a raid conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2020 at the KOJC headquarters in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, where Marissa Duenas, also an administrator of KOJC, was likewise arrested.
In October 2024, Cabactulan and fellow KOJC official Amanda Estopare entered into plea agreements with the US Attorney’s Office in California after admitting their involvement in KOJC visa fraud operations. Estopare was arrested in Virginia in 2020.
The US District Court for the Central District of California earlier accepted Duenas’ guilty plea. Sentencing for Duenas and Maria De Leon, a travel agent accused of falsifying documents to help KOJC members obtain legal status, was earlier expected to take place this year.
Court documents showed that beginning 2015 to on or about January 29, 2020, Estopare, Cabactulan and others had an agreement to commit marriage fraud. They allegedly arranged for KOJC members, who were sent by KOJC founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy to the US, to enter into sham marriages with other KOJC members who were US citizens to enable them to apply for permanent resident status.
Court order
GMA News Online has requested comment from the KOJC in the Philippines regarding the US District Court’s decision on Cabactulan’s case, but it has yet to respond as of posting time.
As part of the conditions of her two-year supervised release, Cabactulan is prohibited from engaging in any immigration petition, marriage arrangement, or fundraising activity unless explicitly approved by her probation officer.
Cabactulan must also participate in a home detention program lasting six months and a day, during which she will be subject to electronic monitoring, GPS tracking, and an alcohol monitoring unit under the supervision of her probation officer.
The defendant is prohibited from engaging in any business “involving the preparation or submission of immigration petitions, marriage arrangement activities, or any other business or volunteer work involving the solicitation of funds” unless expressly permitted by her Probation Officer for employment or volunteer work.
She is also required to grant her Probation Officer access to all business records, client lists, and other documents related to the operation of any business she owns, fully or partially, in accordance with the officer’s directive.
Further, the defendant must comply with the immigration laws and regulations of the United States, and other terms and conditions set by the court.
Meanwhile, the court granted the request of the government prosecutors to dismiss the remaining charges under the original indictment. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
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