Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Two inmates associated with the Hawaii prison gang USO Family, whose members are accused of drug trafficking, violence, bribery and fraud, appeared in federal court in Honolulu on Wednesday in separate hearings — one for sentencing and the other to admit his guilt.
Akoni Davis, 25, was sentenced to three years and two months in prison for assaulting a fellow inmate at Halawa Correctional Facility as a means to gaining entry into USO Family.
Robin Lee, 53, admitted to filing false federal tax returns to obtain money, which was used by USO Family to buy drugs and bribe guards at Halawa.
Davis and Lee are among more than a dozen inmates and a former prison guard who were indicted in September on racketeering charges involving USO Family. The indictment says USO Family is the dominant prison gang in Hawaii’s prisons.
Eight inmates already pleaded guilty this year including Charlie Esera, Opherro Jones, David Kahui, Vaopele Iiga, Potaufa Ula, Moses Thompson, William Shinyama and Travis Nishioka.
The eight remaining defendants are scheduled for trial in September: Billy Wond, Feso Malufau, James Moser, Paul Togia, Clarence Butler, Shadrach Unea, Daniel Kenolio and Tineimalo Adkins.
Nishioka was the first to be sentenced. He received a two-year prison term on July 24 after pleading guilty to violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity. Davis is the second defendant to be sentenced.
Esera pleaded guilty Monday to racketeering conspiracy and will be sentenced in November. According to his plea agreement, Esera operated a "store" inside Halawa that sold meth, marijuana and tobacco to inmates.
Esera admitted filing false tax returns with the help of Lee and others and used the tax refunds to buy drugs and other contraband and to bribe prison guards. He admitted bribing guards Feso Malufau and John Hall to smuggle contraband into the prison.
Malufau is the prison guard named in the indictment and is set for trial in September. Hall pleaded guilty in 2012 to smuggling cigarettes into the prison and selling them. He was sentenced last year to one year and one month in prison.
Davis had pleaded guilty in February to one count of committing a violent crime to further the racketeering activities of the gang.
Lee, the tax preparer, pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Otake told U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren that Lee conspired with USO Family to commit tax fraud by filing 297 fraudulent tax returns from 2007 to 2012.
The fraudulent claims resulted in the government paying $353,810 in refunds. Otake said the money was used to buy drugs and to bribe guards to smuggle contraband into Halawa prison.
She said Lee also filed two fraudulent tax returns between March 2013 and May 2014, claiming $6,695 in refunds, which was not paid.
Kurren told Lee that he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Dec. 4. Kurren also said Lee will be ordered to pay $353,810 in restitution.
81