Judge orders freeze on properties in isle embezzlement case

A state judge has put a freeze on two Oahu properties on which an accountant is accused of paying for mortgages and improvements using money she stole from a nonprofit organization that serves adults and children with physical and developmental disabilities.

Lola Jean Amorin, 69, is charged with stealing nearly $7 million from The Arc in Hawaii, her employer for more than 30 years. The prosecutor said Amorin used most of the stolen money to pay for the mortgages and improvements on three properties on Oahu, one in Las Vegas and on a time-share on the Big Island, which she later sold for a profit.

Amorin remains in custody at Oahu Community Correctional Center, unable to post $3 million bail.

She is also charged along with her husband with tax evasion for failing to list the stolen money as income. Albert Amorin, 71, is free on $50,000 bail pending trial in January.

The Amorins are also being sued by The Arc.

The Arc’s lawyers persuaded Circuit Judge Dean Ochiai on Wednesday to issue an order preventing the Amorins from selling or transferring ownership of their homes in Waipahu and Laie until there is a settlement or judgment in the civil case. That probably won’t happen until the criminal case concludes.

Neither Amorin was in court Wednesday to contest The Arc’s request for a preliminary injunction. Their criminal lawyer told The Arc’s lawyers that he is trying to find the Amorins a lawyer to represent them in the civil case.

The Laie property is where Honolulu police arrested Lola Amorin on Sept. 21. According to Honolulu property tax records, she and her husband purchased the five-bedroom, four-bath home in 2002 for $625,000.

They have since received permits from the city for improvements with an estimated value of nearly $100,000. The home’s current tax assessed value is $882,700.

The Amorins purchased the Waipahu home in 1980, according to The Arc’s lawsuit against them. According to Honolulu property tax records, since 2002 the city has issued permits for improvements with an estimated value of $108,000. The two-story, three-bedroom, three-bath home has a current tax-assessed value of $846,900.