A Federal Court sentenced Stacy Higa to 46 months in prison for embezzling from AmeriCorps and for offering a bribe in return for grants under the CARES Act.
Higa was sentenced by the Honorable Reggie B. Walton. The announcement was made by Matthew M. Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Deborah Jeffrey, Inspector General of AmeriCorps, and Steven Merrill, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Honolulu Field Office.
In October 2021, Higa plead guilty to embezzlement and offering a bribe in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release. He is also required to pay $38,642 in restitution and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment. He also will be required to perform 200 hours of community service.
From June 2011 until May 2020, Higa, a former Hawaiʻi County councilman and mayoral candidate, served as the Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Commission for National and Community Service, the state service commission responsible for administering AmeriCorps programs in Hawaiʻi. From February 2018 through his resignation from the Commission, Higa embezzled more than $38,000 in AmeriCorps funds by signing and authorizing contracts and purchase orders between the Hawaiʻi Commission and two companies that he owned or controlled, without disclosing his control of the companies. Higa spent the embezzled funds on personal expenses including paying for approximately $20,000 of elective aesthetic dental care.
In August 2020, Hanalei Aipoalani was hired to serve as Honolulu City and County’s Department of Community Service’s CARES Program Administrator and was responsible for administering CRF programs. From August 2020 through October 2020, Higa offered to provide financial benefits to Aipoalani in order to influence the approval of Higa’s applications for two grants totaling $845,000 under the CARES Act. Higa then directed an employee to draft and submit false and backdated invoices under the grants. Higa and Aipoalani discussed opening LLCs on Oʻahu and using their wives as principals in order to launder the money. As part of his plea agreement, Higa admitted to expecting to receive at least $250,000 in profit from the CARES Act funds.
Aipoalani separately plead guilty to embezzling from AmeriCorps and agreeing to accept a bribe under the CARES Act. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay full restitution to AmeriCorps.
In a statement, FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill said, “The citizens of Hawai’i deserve a government free of corruption. Stacy Higa’s actions undermine the respect and reputation of all public officials who have the responsibility to uphold the public’s trust. Today’s sentencing reflects the ongoing commitment and dedication of the FBI to work with our partners to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who abuse their authorities and hold them accountable.”
The Inspector General for AmeriCorps and the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie A. Goemaat of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
