For the fifth time since David Low pleaded no contest to charges that he stole nearly $1 million from nine clients, a state judge agreed Thursday to postpone sentencing to give the Honolulu insurance broker more time to finalize business deals that he claims will give him the money to pay back his victims.
Low, 53, pleaded no contest to one second-degree theft charge and 11 counts of first-degree theft in April 2015, after having already convinced the judge to postpone his trial six times in large part to give him the opportunity to begin paying off his victims.
Thursday’s postponement was granted by Circuit Judge Colette Garibaldi over objections from prosecutors. To date Low has not paid back any money.
He faces a maximum five-year prison term for the second-degree theft and 10 years for each of the first-degree theft charges. He remains free on $110,000 bail.
Low, founder and owner of Hawaii Capital Management LLC, also promoted himself as “Hawaii’s Fittest CEO” after Hawaii Business Magazine featured him in 2007 as the “Fittest Male Executive.”
The second-degree theft charge is for collecting $16,500 for the sale of a Rolex watch on eBay but not delivering it. The first-degree theft charges are for collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients to purchase life insurance annuities but instead spending the money on himself.
Low purchased a $130,000 Ferrari with one client’s money. He bought a second Ferrari with money from two other clients, and a Porsche with yet another client’s money, said Ryan Shinsato, special deputy attorney general.
“With the rest of the money, he paid for rent at
Nauru Towers” and other luxury condominiums in Honolulu, Shinsato said.
Shinsato said Low was a licensed insurance agent but represented himself as a financial manager and investment guru.
Valentino Ganutan, 63, went to court Thursday expecting to see Low get sentenced. He said he gave Low his life’s savings to invest in an annuity retirement account only to discover the money wasn’t there when he needed it. Ganutan said he and his wife have struggled to survive, juggling bills to stave off foreclosure. He asked Garibaldi to sentence Low to one year in prison for every dollar he stole from him and his wife.
Low told Garibaldi he got in trouble when the financial markets failed.
“My own personal account, I made some very bad decisions, and unfortunately, when you run a small firm, you try to maximize returns for the clients,” he said.
When Low tried to apologize, Ganutan refused to listen.
“You don’t know what I’m going through. Don’t apologize to me,” Ganutan told Low.
Low’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Steven Nichols, told Garibaldi that Low is waiting on decisions to be made by others on projects that could return enough money to reimburse Low’s victims and even give Low a six-figure salary.
Garibaldi said she will not wait indefinitely to see whether Low might be able to pay back his victims. She said she will decide in six months whether to sentence Low to prison or to probation with a jail term if at that time he is able to pay back all or most of the money he stole.
