WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — A former Maui mayoral candidate arrested in an investment fraud case outside a candidate forum will be released from jail so he can pay restitution to his victims. ADVERTISING WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — A former Maui
WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — A former Maui mayoral candidate arrested in an investment fraud case outside a candidate forum will be released from jail so he can pay restitution to his victims.
Nelson Waikiki Jr. had pleaded guilty to four felony securities charges for an investment scheme involving Opunui Water Co. and Opunui Land and Water Co. As part of his release, he had to refrain from using alcohol and drugs and submit to drug testing, but he failed to show up for testing in May and June. He was arrested for failing to comply with those release conditions.
Waikiki pledged to pay $141,100 in restitution as part of a plea deal. He agreed to pay $60,000 by his December sentencing, and to serve 10 years in prison if he doesn’t make the payment.
Nearly two dozen people invested more than $100,000 with Waikiki, who wasn’t a registered securities broker, from 2008 until 2012. Waikiki had been jailed for more than nine months after his initial arrest last year, and was released on supervision in April after changing his plea.
Waikiki was able to run for public office because he had not yet been sentenced. But he was arrested by plain-clothes officers who waited outside a candidate forum in July.
Waikiki got more than 800 votes in the Aug. 9 primary election, finishing fourth out of six candidates running for mayor.
