A former Transportation Security Administration worker who stole money from an undercover agent posing as a Japanese tourist is going to jail for two months.
After completing the two-month jail term, Dawn Nikole Keka, 35, a former lead TSA officer at Kona Airport, will undergo a year of federal court supervision.
Keka’s lawyer had asked whether Keka could serve six months of home detention instead of jail.
But U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren said Thursday that Keka’s actions deserve a jail term.
"The TSA community needs to understand that the courts will deal harshly with this and other violations of public trust," he said.
The TSA said it conducted a sting operation targeting Keka in response to numerous allegations that she was stealing cash from Japanese travelers passing through her screening lane.
TSA agents arrested Keka on March 11 after a special agent discovered two $100 bills missing from her Hello Kitty backpack after going through Keka’s lane. They found the missing bills crumpled in Keka’s back pocket. They also found other crumpled bills in Keka’s front pockets.
Keka resigned three days later and pleaded guilty to theft in April.
Federal prosecutor Michael Song said Keka stole amounts less likely to raise alarm from the victims and targeted Japanese tourists, believing they are less likely to report the thefts. He also said Keka was able to conceal her actions from the undercover agent and security cameras.
"Ms. Keka took invasion of privacy to a whole other level," Song said.
The cameras did not capture Keka’s theft because they are not pointed at the screeners, said Salina Althof, Keka’s lawyer.
Keka said she was struggling financially to support her unemployed husband and three children. She said she sought help but was denied assistance either because she had a job or made too much money.
"I’m sorry. I made a mistake. I did something wrong," she said.
