Public charter school financial officer sentenced to prison for embezzling over $600K
A 40-year-old Hilo woman was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling more than $600,000 from a Pahoa public charter school that was destroyed during the 2018 Kilauea eruption.
Kelaukila Estabilio was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson in federal court in Honolulu to 60 months imprisonment for embezzling funds from Kua O Ka La Public Charter School where she worked before the campus was destroyed by lava.
From 2006 through January 2019, Estabilio worked for the Kua O Ka La Public Charter School, formerly located in Pahoa, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Kenji M. Price’s office. The charter school also had a nonprofit financial support entity, Hooulu Lahui. Estabilio was the financial officer of the charter school and responsible for managing the books and records.
For over six years, from at least 2012 through November 2018, Estabilio misused the charter school’s funds to pay for her and her family’s personal credit card bills totaling around at least $628,835. Estabilio, according to the Price’s office, used the charter school’s funds to pay off personal bills for extensive interisland and mainland travel; personal care, such as nail salons; pet veterinary care; retail purchases, such as stores like Victoria’s Secret and Zales; entertainment, such as Bruno Mars tickets, MMA, Netflix, and iTunes; living expenses; and restaurant bills.
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https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2020/07/30/hawaii-news/public-charter-school-financial-officer-sentenced-to-prison-for-embezzling-over-600k/