Hawaii Woman Receives 40 Months for Defrauding Kauai COVID Rental Assistance Program
Kaiaulani C. Kaiawe of Kapaa, Hawaii, was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay $126,000 in restitution for fraud against the Kauai Coronavirus Rental and Utility Assistance program. The case triggers mandatory federal collections against her assets and signals continued DOJ pursuit of pandemic relief fraud cases in Hawaii federal court.
usatoday.comHONOLULU — Kaiaulani C. Kaiawe, 47, of Kapaa, Hawaii, received a 40-month prison sentence on May 11, 2026, in U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii for defrauding the Kauai Coronavirus Rental and Utility Assistance program.
U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake also ordered Kaiawe to pay $126,000 in restitution, per the U.S. Department of Justice announcement. The CRUA program, funded through federal pandemic relief, distributed rental and utility payments to households facing eviction or service shutoffs on the island of Kauai during the COVID-19 emergency.
The sentence marks the operational conclusion of one prosecution stemming from the program. Prior to sentencing, Kaiawe remained free pending the May 11 hearing; she must now report to Bureau of Prisons custody to begin the term. Restitution collection begins immediately under standard federal procedures, with the clerk of court and U.S. Attorney’s Office responsible for enforcement.
Downstream, the judgment requires the Justice Department to pursue asset forfeiture or wage garnishment until the $126,000 is recovered. Federal probation officers will supervise Kaiawe for any supervised release period that follows her prison term.
The outcome also supplies a data point for the broader pandemic fraud enforcement effort, which has produced similar sentences in other jurisdictions as agencies close out cases from programs that collectively distributed billions in emergency aid.
This sentencing follows multiple prior DOJ actions targeting fraudulent claims submitted to state-administered COVID rental and utility funds. The Kauai CRUA program operated as one of dozens of local implementations of the federal Emergency Rental Assistance program created by Congress in December 2020 and expanded in subsequent legislation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii has pursued several such cases on the islands since the programs closed to new applications in 2022.
Primary sources: U.S. Department of Justice
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