A My Jungle Rules review of congressional payroll records showed that Guam Del. James Moylan paid bonuses to his 2023 and 2024 staff that were inconsistent with the rest of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Moylan announced in August that he suspected a financial crime was committed in his congressional office, which receives more than $1.5 million a year from the U.S. Treasury. His concern about “financial irregularities" was so strong, he reported it directly to federal law enforcement, blaming his former chief of staff. 

Moylan would not confirm whether his bonus payments were the subject of what he referred to the Justice Department.

He declined to provide immediate answers to several questions posed by My Jungle Rules related to his office spending and why he bypassed the House Ethics Committee, which usually is responsible for investigating complaints against congressional employees suspected of breaking rules or laws.

Moylan’s office said the delegate will respond to those questions “in the coming weeks.” Until then, My Jungle Rules took a closer look at Moylan’s personnel spending, which is the issue he cited as the focus of his report to law enforcement.

Moylan said he asked the Justice Department to investigate after the Payroll and Benefits office uncovered irregularities, following then Chief of Staff Bobby Shringi’s resignation earlier this year. Shringi responded that he followed all rules, and that Moylan approved all personnel, spending and management decisions.

Moylan’s referral opens the door to a wide range of potential criminal allegations such as fraud, theft, embezzlement, false statements, or misappropriation. And because Payroll and Benefits is not involved with congressional travel, the irregularities are unlikely related to Moylan’s travel spending.

My Jungle Rules reviewed congressional spending data to examine his payroll and hiring during his first two terms. This story includes a full list of Moylan’s staff since January 2023, with annual salaries and bonuses (“other compensation”).

Personnel costs usually account for more than 80% of congressional office budgets — as they do in Moylan’s office — followed by equipment, rent, supplies, services and travel. Moylan’s decision to go directly to federal law enforcement, rather than the House Ethics Committee, suggests he viewed the irregularities as a potential criminal matter, not just a mistake or an internal issue. Congressional offices often use leftover “Member Representational Allowance” funds to pay year-end staff bonuses, rather than letting the unspent money return to the Treasury. What stands out is how much larger Moylan’s bonuses were — about four times the House average.

During his first two years in office, Moylan gave more than $400,000 in bonuses to about a dozen employees. By contrast, former CNMI Del. James Sablan paid just $47,000 in staff bonuses over the same period.

Members of Congress set staff pay and bonuses within their MRA allocations. They cannot hire family members, and salaries are capped at $174,000. Moylan’s 2023 allocation was about $1.54 million, of which $1.14 million went to personnel, including interns and shared employees.

In late 2023, the average staff bonus across the House was $4,722. Unused office funds revert to the Treasury each January. Moylan’s bonuses were far higher.

In 2023, Moylan paid his employees $204,000 in bonuses, averaging $17,000 each. The lowest bonus, $5,000, went to operations director Elidio Pineiro, while the largest, $24,000, went to chief of staff Shringi.

In 2024, Moylan continued the practice. Thirteen employees received a total of $210,000 in bonuses, averaging $16,153. The smallest was $5,000 for part-time employee Agusto Aflague. Shringi again received the largest, $25,000 — nearly nine weeks of extra pay for the chief of staff.

One anomaly stood out: Part-time staffer Julian Boquison earned just $9,999.99 in base pay in 2024 but received a $9,000 bonus, nearly doubling his compensation.

House rules warn that overcompensating employees — including through bonuses or lump-sum payments — can be an ethics violation. Members must certify that staff duties justify their pay. The Ethics Committee has rarely enforced the rule, though in one case more than a decade ago, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) was required to repay $40,625 for continuing to pay a former chief of staff who was no longer working for him.

In Moylan’s case, the referral to law enforcement suggests the payroll irregularities could be more serious than an ethics violation.

Below is the breakdown of Moylan’s staff compensation during his first two years in office. Paid interns are not included.