The Hawaii County Council is poised to approve a resolution that would authorize Mayor Kimo Alameda to enter into an agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Honolulu Division to collaborate on the Hawaii Financial Crimes Task Force.
The task force’s goal is to identify and prosecute individuals and groups involved in financial crimes of federal interest. If approved, the Hawaii Police Department will work with the FBI to exchange information and coordinate efforts aimed at protecting the community from financial scams and offenses.
The partnership is designed to enhance the county’s ability to safeguard residents through collaborative investigations. It also will help target financial crimes that affect vulnerable groups, such as seniors, who are often the victims of fraud.
The resolution complies with state law, which requires council approval for agreements with the federal government. It also mandates that the HPD submit an annual resolution for council review to continue the cooperation.
Councilwoman Jenn Kagiwada of Hilo, who introduced the resolution, emphasized the importance of addressing financial crimes affecting the community.
“Just last week, the Hawaii Police Department sent out a message warning our community about a ‘widespread phone scam’ where callers pose as police officials and attempt to get people to pay for nonexisting outstanding warrants, etc. I also have a constituent who reached out to me saying he was the victim of a similar financial crime — so we know this is happening here,” Kagiwada said.
“It is important that we do what we can to protect our residents, especially our kupuna, from being the targets of financial scams and crimes, including those where there may be federal interests such as crimes crossing state lines, like those conducted through the internet and the U.S. mail,” Kagiwada added. “It is equally important that we support our Hawaii Police Department in maintaining its focus to serve and protect all the people of Hawaii Island. Therefore, I support Hawaii County Resolution 250-25 so long as it does not conflict with either of these two goals.”
A council committee recommended adoption of the resolution by an 8-0 vote, with Councilwoman Michelle Galimba absent. It is scheduled for consideration at today’s council meeting.
Keali‘i Lopez, AARP Hawaii state director, expressed concern over rising financial fraud targeting seniors.
“Kupuna have worked all their lives to save money for their golden years. Too often, scammers try to steal their money through fraud. These scammers are professional criminals, and they should be investigated and prosecuted,” Lopez told the Tribune-Herald.
Lopez noted the growing number of complaints and the increasing amount of money lost to financial fraud, particularly targeting kupuna. “The number of complaints and money lost through financial fraud targeting kupuna is growing exponentially. Something needs to be done,” she said.
Once adopted, the resolution will be sent to Mayor Kimo Alameda, the Department of Finance director, and the HPD chief.
“This resolution allows us to be part of the Hawaii financial crimes task force, and what that does is basically open a bunch of resources to the police department that we don’t have,” acting Police Chief Reed Mahuna told the Tribune-Herald on Tuesday. “The FBI has resources that reach nationwide and globally that we can use to combat financial crimes.
“Many of these cases are not reported to police immediately, as oftentimes the victims are not made aware of them right away,” HPD Capt. Rio Amon-Wilkins told the Tribune-Herald on Tuesday. “Additionally, many financial crimes are cyber-related, which again can present challenges. Identifying a suspect or suspects is often not done until a detective drafts and serves search warrants to financial institutions and on-line entities such as Google, CashApp, Apple Pay, etc. And many times following a months-long investigation, police may not be able to identify the perpetrators. Many times the perpetrators may be anywhere in the world as well. One of our main priorities is attempting to retrieve victims’ financial losses, as even if a suspect is identified, there are again challenges if they are out of state, and many times out of country.
“Being a part of the Financial Crimes Task Force basically provides our detectives with additional resources to help identify suspects and potentially retrieve victims’ financial losses,” Amon-Wilkins said.
Email Daniel Farr at dfarr@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
