Honolulu Legal Blog

Daniel K. Mahiai, 32, a Molokai resident, pleaded guilty in United States District Court yesterday to embezzling money from the Molokai Community Federal Credit Union (FCU). Mahiai, who worked as a teller at the FCU from August 2004 through February 4, 2008, faces a maximum term of 30 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1 million when he is sentenced on February 16, 2010, by United States District Judge David A. Ezra.

United States Attorney Florence T. Nakakuni said that according to information produced in court, between January 2005 and February 2008, Mahiai took a total of $218,293.68 from the credit union by removing it from his teller’s drawer, replacing $55,982 before his acts were discovered. In order to hide his conduct, Mahiai made false entries in various FCU accounts to make it appear that account holders had made withdrawals. Mahiai then placed some of the accounts in “no mail” status, which prevented the credit union from sending the members statements reflecting the withdrawals. When account holders conducted transactions, Mahiai made entries reflecting deposits in the amounts taken, which falsely inflated the balances.
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Ronald Joseph Radcliffe, age 43, today pled guilty in United States District Court before Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren to bribery and money laundering charges arising from Radcliffe’s tour of duty as an Army Master Sergeant in Iraq in 2004-2005. Before deploying to Iraq with the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry (Light), Radcliffe’s last residence was in Hawaii.

Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that Radcliffe faces maximum terms of imprisonment of 15 and 20 years on the bribery and money laundering charges, respectively, when he is sentenced by District Judge David A. Ezra on February 8, 2010. According to information produced in court, Radcliffe’s duties included dealing with Turkish and Iraqi companies who wanted to obtain Army contracts which could result in earnings of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Radcliffe admitted that he received at least $37,659.13 in return for being influenced in the contracting process. The money laundering charges arose from transactions involving the proceeds of the bribery.
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ARTHUR LEE ONG, age 51, was indicted by a federal grand jury today for federal tax crimes. ONG is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and six counts of tax evasion relating to the years from 2000 through 2005. According to the indictment, ONG, the owner and operator of Thunder Bug, Inc., doing business in the State of Hawaii as Magnum Firearms, failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) income he earned from the sale of firearms and related products to federal, state, county, and military agencies, as well as to the general public.

Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said according to the indictment, ONG created multiple nominee entities for the purpose of hiding his income and filed false tax returns on behalf of these nominee entities that fraudulently reported to the IRS that the income from his businesses was attributable to these entities and not to him. According to the indictment, ONG evaded more than $300,000 in federal taxes for the six tax years spanning 2000 through and including 2005.
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A Big Island man accused of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor after traveling to Cambodia made his initial appearance in federal court here today. Richard David Mitchell, 61, of Kamuela, on the island of Hawaii, is charged in a criminal complaint filed on August 26, 2009 in United States District Court in Honolulu. According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, witnesses reported seeing Mitchell engaging in sex acts with a 12-year-old girl in August 2008 at a curbside in Cambodia.

Ed Kubo, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that federal law prohibits United States citizens and permanent resident aliens from traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in sexual acts with a person under the age of 16 if those acts would have been prohibited under federal law in the United States, or with a person under the age of 18 if those acts were commercial. Mitchell is being prosecuted under those provisions. U. S. Attorney Kubo said that federal law also prohibits foreign travel for the purpose of engaging in such acts. The PROTECT Act, which went into effect on April 30, 2003, substantially strengthened the federal laws related to predatory crimes involving children outside the United States by adding new crimes and increasing sentences.
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A federal grand jury returned an indictment today in United States District Court charging Charles Vidinha, 78, a Kauai resident, with the recent killing of a Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

Ed Kubo, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said the indictment alleges that the offense occurred on May 21, 2009. According to court documents, the deceased monk seal, which had been shot, was recovered at Pila’a Beach, which is a remote beach on Kauai’s north shore. If convicted, Vidinha faces maximum penalties of one year imprisonment and a fine of $50,000. Charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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On July 28, 2009, HECTOR CRUZ, age 38, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced by United States District Judge J. Michael Seabright to 175 months (over 14 ½ years) imprisonment for selling one pound of methamphetamine to an undercover Honolulu Police Department officer in March 2007. Cruz was the last to be sentenced of 15 defendants who were part of a larger conspiracy. According to information produced in court, the conspiracy was responsible for shipping thousands of pounds of methamphetamine from Las Vegas, Nevada to Hawaii from approximately 2005 to June 2007. The leader of the conspiracy, NELSON GAITAN-AYALA, age 46, also then a resident of Las Vegas, was found guilty by a federal jury in October 2007 and sentenced to 22 years imprisonment by Judge Seabright on June 15, 2009.

Edward H. Kubo, Jr., United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said the case was the culmination of a three-year investigation which included extensive wire tap evidence. To date, 15 individuals have been prosecuted and convicted of federal drug offenses for their roles in the drug conspiracy. Judge Seabright also sentenced other co-conspirators in the case to terms of imprisonment including:
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HAROLD C. SPEAR, III, M.D., 56, formerly of Hanapepe, Hawaii, today pled guilty to four counts of dispensing controlled substances “outside the usual course of professional practice” and “not for a legitimate medical purpose.” SPEAR also pled guilty to one additional similar charge of dispensing controlled substances filed in the Middle District of Alabama, and agreed to the forfeiture of money seized as part of that investigation. He will be sentenced on all five charges on October 26, 2009 before United States District Judge David Alan Ezra.

Edward H. Kubo, Jr., United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that in entering his guilty plea, SPEAR admitted that he prescribed a Schedule II controlled substance, methadone, to a Hawaii patient on four occasions in 2005 and 2006, and that in each instance the prescription was in violation of a federal law prohibiting the dispensing of controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose. The Alabama charge was premised on a similarly illegal prescription for hydrocodone, a Schedule III controlled substance. Read the rest of this entry »

Oliver Kupau III, a former business agent of Laborers’ Local 368, cannot hold union office or employment, according to an order issued by United States District Judge Helen Gillmor on June 12, 2009. Kupau, Laborers’ Local 368, and its parent union, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) had requested an exemption for Kupau from the federal statute prohibiting persons convicted of certain crimes from serving as an officer, director, executive board member, or employee of a labor union for 13 years from the later of the date of conviction or period of incarceration. According to the order, Kupau was convicted of money laundering in November 1998 based on his payment of a $5,100 bribe to a Honolulu Police Department officer on union premises for protection of his illegal cockfighting business. He was last discharged from prison in November 2005. Read the rest of this entry »

Queen’s Medical Center (”QMC”) of Honolulu, Hawaii has paid a total of $2.5 million to settle two lawsuits alleging that QMC over billed the Medicare program, the State of Hawaii Medicaid program, and TRICARE, the federal health benefits program for military dependents. The settlement grew out of civil “whistleblower” suits brought in federal and state court by two former QMC pharmacy technicians under the federal and State of Hawaii False Claims Acts.

Edward H. Kubo, Jr., United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that the Acts allow the government to seek up to triple damages, plus penalties, for false and fraudulent claims submitted to government programs. The former technicians alleged that QMC submitted false bills for pharmaceuticals dispensed at the hospital, and billed federal programs for services provided by residents without the level of supervision required by federal rules. The federal and state governments initiated an investigation based on the allegations of the two former QMC pharmacy technicians. Read the rest of this entry »

United States Magistrate Judge Leslie Kobayashi yesterday sentenced JEROME KENNETH KINGZIO, age 28, of Saipan, to 21 days imprisonment for assaulting a fellow passenger on an airline flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu on March 21, 2009. KINGZIO also pled guilty to the offense before Judge Kobayashi yesterday.

Edward H. Kubo, Jr., United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that according to information produced in court, the victim, a 66 year-old woman en route to a scuba diving vacation, said she was watching the flight’s movie when KINGZIO stood next to her and began urinating on her. She related that not only was her entire vacation ruined, but she continues to suffer emotionally from the incident.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Marshall H. Silverberg.