Former Honolulu Police Chief Agrees To Plead Guilty To Bank Fraud
Louis Kealoha’s plea deal will keep him from a trial that had been set for January. It comes a day after his wife, Katherine, signed her own agreement.
Louis Kealoha has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in a criminal case involving bank fraud charges, his attorney said Monday.
The former Honolulu police chief and his wife, former deputy city prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, were accused of defrauding financial聽 institutions and stealing from the trust funds of children for whom his wife was a guardian.
Katherine Kealoha signed her plea agreement Sunday morning, her attorney said. Louis Kealoha signed his Monday afternoon.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright still needs to approve the agreements. He has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday morning in federal court in Honolulu.
As part of his agreement, Louis Kealoha would plead guilty to one felony count of bank fraud, according to his attorney, Rustam Barbee. In exchange, all other charges will be dismissed.
The Kealohas were convicted in June of conspiracy and obstruction charges by a federal jury for conspiring to frame Gerard Puana, her uncle, for the theft of their mailbox. Sentencing in that case is set for Oct. 31.
The Kealohas were scheduled to go on trial for the bank fraud charges in January. That trial will no longer happen if the judge approves their plea agreements.
Katherine Kealoha’s plea agreement would resolve two pending criminal cases — the one with Louis involving bank fraud and identity theft and a second case on drug trafficking charges.
Katherine Kealoha is expected to plead guilty to three felonies in exchange for reduced prison time, attorneys involved in the case have said.
Katherine Kealoha and her younger brother, Rudolph Puana, were accused of running a prescription drug trafficking ring. That trial is scheduled for May 2020. Her brother is not part of the Kealohas’ plea deals and would still either go to trial or negotiate his own agreement.
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