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Editor’s note: At Civil Beat, as at many other news publications, we do not typically cover suicides unless the individual is newsworthy in other ways.

Christopher Dawson, a prominent Native Hawaiian defense contractor, was found dead Thursday on Oʻahu, according to the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office.

Dawson’s death, which the medical examiner determined to be a suicide, comes as he was under federal investigation for alleged financial crimes, including wire fraud and money laundering. The cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the medical examiner said.

Dawson, 62, was the founder and former chairman of the Hawaiian Native Corp., a nonprofit that owns 11 for-profit subsidiary companies that have received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts, mainly from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Hawaiian Native Corp. and its companies together operate under the brand name Dawson.

UPDATE: Allen Hoe, board chair of the Hawaiian Native Corp., and Dave Johnson, president and CEO of Dawson, sent a statement on Monday after the news broke.

“We are profoundly sorry to hear of the passing of Chris Dawson,” they said. “As our founder, he was instrumental in shaping the early chapters of our company’s story. We honor the foundation he helped create and remain committed to building on that legacy. Our heartfelt aloha and condolences go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.”

In response to Civil Beat’s story, Dawson’s family sent a statement Monday morning that said Dawson “has unexpectedly passed away of unknown causes.”

“Despite recent media reports to the contrary, we have spoken with the Medical Examiner’s office who advised us that they are looking at additional evidence. Their position is that the investigation is still ongoing,” the statement said.

Late Monday, city officials sent a statement confirming that the medical examiner listed the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head and neck and the manner of death as suicide.

Ian Scheuring, a spokesman for Mayor Rick Blangiardi, noted in the statement that a law enforcement investigation is ongoing and the final autopsy report isn’t complete. “The Office of the Medical Examiner has agreed to conduct a second examination, the results of which will be incorporated into the final autopsy report,” he said.

Hawaiian Native Corp. has relied heavily on sole source and set-aside contracts awarded through a minority-contracting program with the Small Business Administration, which require that a portion of the profits be given back to the Native Hawaiian community.

Some of the Hawaiian Native Corp.’s charitable giving has included paying the electrical bills at Iolani Palace and sponsoring the Hawaiian “Word of the Day” on Hawaii Public Radio. It’s unknown exactly how much money has gone toward these charitable endeavors because the SBA considers that information confidential.

Dawson’s own website states that his companies have “provided more than $100 million in economic impact to the global Native Hawaiian community,” including through direct monetary and in-kind contributions, job creation and promoting Native Hawaiian history and culture.

Dawson stepped down from his position as the head of the organization last year after federal agents from the Internal Revenue Service and Defense Criminal Investigative Service executed a search warrant at the Hawaiian Native Corp. headquarters in downtown Honolulu.

He was subsequently removed from the board and relinquished his control of the Hawaiian Native Corp.’s subsidiary companies, which employ more than 1,200 people in the U.S. and internationally.

Two of his family members, including his mother, Beatrice “Beadie” Dawson, and his sister, Donne Dawson, also have been replaced on the Hawaiian Native Corp. board, their names removed from its website. Beadie Dawson is a well-known Native Hawaiian lawyer and previously served as a director emeritus on the Hawaiian Native Corp. board. Donne Dawson is the head of the Hawaii Film Office.

In addition to government contracting, Dawson was well known in the polo community, both as a player and a proselytizer.

He founded a nonprofit, the Hawaii International Polo Association, that sought to expand polo’s reach in the islands, launched his own clothing brand — Hawaii Polo Life — and purchased a horse breeding operation in Argentina as part of a business venture with one of the top players in the world.

On his website, Dawson said he was dedicated to supporting Native Hawaiians not only through philanthropy and business, but also by teaching Hawaiian history and culture “through the lens of polo.”