Ten year sentence given for theft of $600,000 from elderly woman

A Hawaii Kai woman who took nearly $600,000 from an elderly woman whom she had persuaded to give her power of attorney and to sell her home was sentenced in state court this morning to 10 years in prison.

A  jury found Susan Chin, 44, guilty in April of theft and money laundering.

Circuit Judge Karen Ahn ordered Chin into custody this morning to immediately begin serving her prison sentence.

The jury found that despite having power of attorney over 86-year-old Katherine Ganeko’s affairs, Chin did not have the authority to take the bulk of the proceeds from the sale of Ganeko’s Halawa Heights home and put it into her own bank accounts. The jurors also found that Chin did not have the authority to use $8,000 from the sale for her own car payment.