The former head of American Samoa's Retirement Fund Office, Luatua Filisouaiga Taafua, is in jail on $US100,000 dollars bail.
He is facing 21 charges for allegedly misappropriating more than $US 100,000 of Retirement Fund money while he was director of the government pension plan.
He was served an arrest warrant when he came to the District Court for his initial appearance.
Luatua had been placed on leave without pay for several months while the investigation was going on and in January, the Retirement Fund board moved to terminate his services.
An audit report found evidence that Luatua misappropriated about $US 112,000 that belonged to the Fund for his personal use.
American Samoa police headquarters Photo: Supplied