Oahu man indicted on charges of transporting fireworks from China without license

A Honolulu man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for transporting 278 cases of fireworks into Hawaii from China -- and then trying to conceal the imports.

Brandon C. Haleamau, 26, Wednesday was charged with three counts of transporting display fireworks without a license, one count of importing display fireworks from China by means of a false declaration, and one charge of structuring financial transactions totaling more than $1.1 million in value to evade federal currency transaction reporting requirements.

The indictment seeks forfeiture of $345,421.70 seized from Haleamau's credit union account, a 2009 Acura sedan, a 2009 Nissan coupe and a 2008 Lexus sedan.

Trial is set for Oct. 26 before Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Haleamau received 278 cases of 1.3G-type display fireworks without the proper federal license, and that he attempted to import from China 1.3G-type display fireworks by falsely declaring them as 1.4G-type consumer fireworks.

Federal law requires a Currency Transaction Report be filed by a financial institution with the Internal Revenue Service for any currency transaction over $10,000 and it is illegal to structure transactions to avoid filing the reports. The indictment alleges that Haleamau structured 283 such transactions.

Haleamau faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on each of the transportation charges, two years on the importation charge and five years on the structuring charge.