Donald Browne is apparently out of money. The CEO of Imperial Pacific International (IPI) is facing jail time for contempt over the company’s failures to comply with court orders associated with the company’s fledgling Imperial Palace in Saipan, but can’t hire a lawyer to plead his case. He has asked a judge to supply him with a lawyer so he can try to avoid spending Christmas behind bars, according to the Saipan Tribune, but he shouldn’t worry too much. The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has already repeatedly shown that its bark is much worse than its bite.
Browne was told last week to show how IPI is ready to fulfill its long-outstanding obligations tied to a court order from several months ago to pay fees. He was given until the end of the day on December 4 to provide the update or face the possibility of being put in jail, but he’s still free. Browne has now filed a request with the court to have a lawyer assigned, explaining that he’s in no shape financially to cover the expense on his own.
In his request, Browne asserted, “I took a 30% pay cut when I became CEO. The company is not able to pay its employees or to sustain operations. All employees, including myself, have not been paid since Sept. 25, 2020. As a result of having been on furlough without pay for about four months, and then not having been paid for more than the last two months, I have no savings. I am married but my wife is not employed right now. We have two minor children, a 4-year-old and a 4-month-old. I have no income. Therefore, I am not able to afford to hire an attorney. I request that the court appoint counsel for me as I am facing incarceration.”
Browne was never meant to be the CEO of IPI. He was forced into the position this past summer when the company was ordered to appoint a boss, having previously been working as its head of security. Apparently, finding an experienced executive willing to assume command of the controversial company was more difficult than IPI’s board had expected. Browne was given the task for six months and his term is supposed to end in January, but he probably never expected to be facing prison as it came to an end.
There isn’t much incentive to remain focused when you’re a six-month CEO who is not getting paid and is looking at possibly spending the holidays behind bars. Browne admitted that IPI has been struggling financially for about a year and, at this point, there doesn’t seem to be any recovery in sight. Construction has been halted (although there are rumors that some work is still being done), employees aren’t getting paid and the CNMI government is owed millions of dollars. Regulators, however, continue to give the company leeway, expecting to see a turnaround that will never come. In the meantime, millions more will be lost and IPI doesn’t appear to be able to show any signs of being able to turn things around in the near- or long-term.
