Pablo M. Rivera, chief financial officer of the University of Nations/Youth with a Mission campus in Kailua-Kona, has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly embezzling at least $1.5 million from the organization over a period of more than two
Pablo M. Rivera, chief financial officer of the University of Nations/Youth with a Mission campus in Kailua-Kona, has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly embezzling at least $1.5 million from the organization over a period of more than two years.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Nammar, the prosecutor handling the case against Rivera, confirmed Rivera, 41, made his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon in Honolulu. Rivera’s detention hearing is set for 10 a.m. Monday
The investigation into Rivera’s alleged criminal activity was handled by Special Agent Gregory Turner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a certified public accountant and certified fraud examiner, assigned since 2014 to the white collar crime squad at the FBI’s Hawaii Field Office in Honolulu.
Turner’s deposition, included in a criminal complaint that served as the basis for the arrest of Rivera and the subsequent criminal proceedings, was unsealed Wednesday.
According to court documents, “(Rivera) sent a series of false and fictitious invoices to UON (University of Nations) which purported to reflect the true costs and labor charges of work performed by contractor KJ Walk. In truth and fact, however, Rivera was submitting altered KJ Walk invoices to UON, which falsely inflated the actual costs and wages for work performed by KJ Walk.”
UON contracts KJ Walk Inc., the home offices of which are based in Savage, Minnesota, for maintenance and construction work on the UON campus in Kailua-Kona — one of the largest UON facilities in the world.
Ownership and management at KJ Walk could not be reached for comment.
As a direct result of the falsified invoices emailed by Rivera, UON made several wire transfers from its checking account to a corporate account accessible by KJ Walk and Rivera, after which Rivera made several withdrawals for his “personal benefit,” according to court documents.
After being confronted by the owner of KJ Walk, Rivera reportedly said, falsely, that the withdrawals were made to pay subcontractors — namely Westside Electric, an electrical subcontractor in Kailua-Kona.
The UON is a Christian-based missionary organization that offers those who enroll training and inspiration to develop their own personal relationships with God while preparing them to spread the Christian faith and its principles through missionary work across the globe.
UON has to date established 600 locations across 142 countries worldwide.
“University of the Nations Kona was recently made aware of possible fraudulent activity against our organization and a third-party contractor committed by an individual. The person of interest was a volunteer in a financial role. We take allegations of this nature very seriously, and provided full support to law enforcement,” Jill Thornton, a media relations officer for the UON, said in an email Wednesday.
“As of Tuesday afternoon, we understand a suspect was taken into custody by federal authorities. Though we are relieved that justice is being served, we are deeply saddened by the crimes committed against us. Given this remains an active investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time and refer all questions to the FBI.”
