Convicted Guam Bingo Boss Flees After Verdict, Lands on FBI Most Wanted
Posted on: January 30, 2026, 11:23h.
Last updated on: January 30, 2026, 11:32h.
- Convicted bingo operator vanished before sentencing after massive Guam charity fraud
- FBI says sham bingo scheme raised $34 million, none for sick children
- Michael Marasigan fled to the Philippines after a jury convicted him of fraud
A convicted bingo swindler who fled the country after a federal jury nailed him for fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling has landed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
Michael Marasigan, a joint US and Philippine citizen, was convicted in May 2025 in the US District Court on the island of Guam, a US Pacific territory best known for its US military base.
That’s where he and two others, husband and wife Jose and Christine Chan, established a bingo operation, ostensibly to raise money for the Guam Shrine Club, a nonprofit organization that helped transport sick children to the Shriners Hospital in Hawaii for medical care.
Guam law generally prohibits gambling but allows certain organizations to run bingo games provided the net proceeds are used only for approved charitable purposes.
Swindling Sick Kids
Marasigan and his codefendants weren’t using the funds for charitable purposes. From March 2015 through Dec. 31, 2021, they were lining their own pockets, using the club’s nonprofit status and bingo permits as cover while operating as an illegal gambling business, according to a federal indictment unsealed in May 2023.
Prosecutors said that of the $34 million raised, none of it went to the children or the Shriners hospital, and around $10.7 million was diverted for personal use by Marasigan and co-conspirators.
Marasigan was the owner of a company called Ideal Ventures, which operated the bingo parlor known as Hafa Adai Bingo at the Guam Shrine Club. He was also convicted of laundering some of the money.
Christine Chan, a senior figure at the club, allegedly provided the bogus nonprofit cover, while Jose Arthur “Art” Chan was accused of helping funnel money out of the games through recurring payments disguised as fees or profit sharing.
Marasigan Skips Town
The couple was convicted along with Marasigan and were scheduled to be sentenced last November, but Marasigan skipped town. The fraudster was granted permission to travel to the Philippines for medical reasons — and then failed to return by the required date, cutting off contact in June 2025.
He has since been charged with violation of conditions of pretrial release and is considered a fugitive, according to his FBI Most Wanted profile. Marasigan’s whereabouts are unknown, but authorities believe he may be hiding out in the Philippines, where he holds a valid passport.
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