Co-defendant
convicted of
defrauding the city

Kaahaaina submitted
false bills for work
that was never done

Star-Bulletin staff

A co-defendant in the Ewa Villages relocation fraud was sentenced to five years' probation and 1,000 hours of community service for submitting false invoices for moving work that was never done.

Circuit Judge Richard Perkins also sentenced David Brian Kaahaaina to one year in jail but allowed him to remain free pending a further hearing to see if he has complied with a restitution order.

Kaahaaina, president of American Hauling, was ordered to pay the city $127,711 in restitution -- half of the amount he received for doing bogus moving work. The other half went to Michael Kahapea, who was convicted last year of stealing $5.8 million from the Ewa Villages relocation fund.

The state allowed Kaahaaina to plead no contest to money laundering and theft charges for his testimony at Kahapea's trial last August.

Perkins also denied Kaahaaina's request yesterday to defer his plea, which would have allowed him to erase his conviction from his record after he complies with the court's conditions.