Katherine Puana Kealoha is a former Deputy Prosecutor with the

City and County of Honolulu Honolulu County (officially known as the City and County of Honolulu, formerly Oahu County) is a consolidated city–county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The city–county includes both the city of Honolulu (the state's capital and largest city ...

and a convicted felon. She resigned from the position of deputy prosecutor in September 2017 after she and her husband Louis Kealoha were indicted on eight counts of

bank fraud Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many ins ...

. Her husband is a former Chief of Police.

Education

Kealoha grew up in Kahalu‘u, on the windward side of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

. She attended high school at the

Mid-Pacific Institute Mid-Pacific Institute is a private, co-educational college preparatory school for grades preschool through twelve with an approximate enrollment of 1,538 students, the majority of whom are from Hawaii (although many also come from other states and ...

. She obtained a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in Criminal Justice Administration at

Chaminade University Chaminade University of Honolulu is a private Marianist university in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1955 by the Society of Mary, Chaminade is located in Kaimuki, Honolulu at the base of St. Louis Heights. Chaminade offers bachelor's degrees in ...

. Kealoha attended the

William S. Richardson School of Law The William S. Richardson School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, the school is named after its patriarch, former Hawaii State Supreme Court Chief Justice William ...

at the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and received a Juris Doctor.

Career

Kealoha worked at the Law Offices of Katherine Kealoha and Associates between 2000 and 2006. Kealoha was appointed as the director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control in 2009 by then-governor of Hawaii,

Linda Lingle Linda Lingle (''née'' Cutter; June 4, 1953) is an American politician, who was the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 until 2010. She was the first Republican governor of Hawaii since 1962. Lingle was also the state's first female and first Je ...

Legal issues

Civil case

In 2011, Kealoha was accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her grandmother, Florence Puana. Kealoha's grandmother and uncle, Gerard Puana filed a civil suit against Kealoha based on the accusations. Kealoha won the civil suit against her grandmother and uncle.

Mailbox theft incident

On June 22, 2013 Kealoha reported to the Honolulu Police that her mailbox was stolen from her home in Kahala. Kealoha alleged that her uncle Gerard could be seen stealing the mailbox on video taken via her home surveillance system. After having the case transferred from Honolulu Police, the

U.S. Postal Inspection Service The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), or the Postal Inspectors, is the law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service. It supports and protects the U.S. Postal Service, its employees, infrastructure, and customers by enfor ...

determined that the man in the video was not Gerard Puana. On July 1, 2013, Gerard Puana was charged by federal prosecutors with destroying a mailbox. Puana's trial began on December 4, 2014. While testifying against Puana, Kealoha's husband, Louis Kealoha perpetuated a mistrial by informing the jury about Puana's former criminal conviction. In December 2013, Niall Silva, a retired policeman from the Honolulu Police Department, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Katherine Kealoha to frame Gerard Puana. On June 27, 2019, Kealoha was convicted of federal conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges. In January 2020, Kealoha was scheduled for trial on allegations of bank fraud and identity theft. In October 2019, Kealoha pled guilty to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and drug charges as part of a plea arrangement. On November 30, 2020, she was sentenced to 13 years in Federal prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kealoha, Katherine Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Oahu American prosecutors Chaminade University of Honolulu alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni American people convicted of fraud 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American criminals Hawaii lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers