Another HPD officer arrested by FBI agents
HONOLULU (AP) — The FBI says agents arrested a Honolulu Police Department officer, but cannot confirm the arrest was connected to an ongoing federal corruption investigation into the former police chief.
FBI Special Agent Arnold Laanui said officer Derek Hahn was arrested without incident Wednesday.
The arrest comes days after another Honolulu police officer and a retired major were arrested by the FBI as part of a federal corruption investigation that stemmed from a peculiar case of a mailbox former police chief Louis Kealoha said was stolen from his home by his wife’s uncle.
Kealoha agreed to retire after receiving notice of the FBI’s investigation.
Ex-FBI official accused of stealing from LGBT group
HONOLULU (AP) — The nonprofit Hawaii LGBT Legacy Foundation accused a former high-ranking FBI official of stealing more than $33,000 while he was the organization’s treasurer.
The nonprofit told police that between November 2016 and August 2017, 56-year-old Robert Kauffman wrote improper checks and made several unauthorized withdrawals from the foundation’s bank account.
“Several of these checks and bank account withdrawals were in excess of $3,000, which requires the approval of two board members,” attorney and foundation director David Brustein said. “Robert did not have signatures or board approval.”
Kauffman is a former assistant special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Honolulu field office. He currently is chief investigator for the state Judiciary’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which oversees attorney conduct.
Kaufmann’s attorney, Myles Breiner, said his client is “innocent of any embezzlement” and was safeguarding the money from being misspent.
He said Kauffman returned the money even before the foundation went to the police. Kauffman plans to fight the allegations.
Ex-accountant sentenced for embezzlement
HONOLULU (AP) — The former managing partner of what was one of Hawaii’s largest accounting firms was taken into custody after a judge sentenced him to prison for stealing more than $400,000 from the company.
Deputies took Patrick Oki into custody Tuesday after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for multiple counts of theft, money laundering, forgery and using a computer to commit the crimes.
Oki admitted to claiming false reimbursements and lying to his partners but testified he only took what was owed to him from PKF Pacific Hawaii LLP. He was found guilty on all counts following a two-week nonjury trial in February.
