A former business manager for the state Department of Education’s Ka‘u-Keaau-Pahoa Complex Area faces three felony theft charges after allegedly stealing more than $7,000 from the DOE between 2018 and 2020.
Karie Luana Klein, 52, of Hilo was arrested by state sheriff’s deputies on Thursday after being charged Feb. 16 by the Department of the Attorney General’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division with three counts of second-degree theft.
Klein was released after posting $25,000 bail, court records indicate.
She’s scheduled to appear Monday for arraignment and plea before Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota.
According to the complaint, between May 1 and Dec. 31, 2019, Klein allegedly falsified DOE nine mileage voucher forms with 17 fraudulent mileage or parking claims, resulting in a loss of about $809.60 to the department.
The document also alleges that Klein used 24 DOE purchase orders to make unauthorized purchases, resulting in a loss of $3,160.02 to the department.
The final allegation in the complaint is that Klein made five unauthorized purchases on a DOE purchasing card or “P-Card,” resulting in a loss of $3.035.21 to the department.
Second-degree theft is a Class C felony, with each charge carrying a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, upon conviction.
The Special Investigation and Prosecution Division, which was formed in 2022, is tasked with a dual mandate of combating public corruption and human trafficking in Hawaii.
“Government officials who abuse the public trust will be prosecuted and held accountable for their crimes,” said Attorney General Anne Lopez.
Klein has no prior criminal record other than traffic matters.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.