Fraud investigation ends in Kailua man’s indictment

A federal grand jury indicted a Kailua man Wednesday on 28 criminal counts for allegedly stealing more than $890,000 from people in an investment scheme in which people were told their money would be used to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Daniel Patrick Doyle, 54, was charged with 27 counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud relating to a legitimate federal program designed to stimulate investment to rebuild areas of Mississippi damaged in the 2005 storm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Honolulu said in a news release.

The victims heard Doyle’s offer on AM radio financial shows broadcast in California. Listeners were encouraged to call Doyle’s office in Kailua for investment information.

The government said Doyle told prospective investors that their money would go toward real estate projects in the federal "Gulf Opportunity Zone" in Mississippi, which provided tax breaks to real estate investors for hurricane reconstruction.

Doyle instead spent the money on personal expenses, such as mortgage payments on his Kailua home and yachting expenses, the indictment said.

Doyle owned and operated a business in Kailua using such names as Investment Real Estate Network and Investment Radio Network, the government said.

From late 2007 through December 2009, Doyle allegedly purchased air time on California talk radio stations to broadcast infomercials that he hosted and produced touting the benefits of Mississippi "GO Zone" real estate investments.

"Dan Doyle allegedly offered investments in Mississippi rental properties designed to transition Hurricane Katrina victims out of FEMA trailers and into real homes," said Tom Simon, a spokesman for the FBI’s Honolulu office, which conducted the investigation.

"For many socially conscious investors, the ability to make money while helping the less fortunate can be a very enticing offer."

Seventeen people wire-transferred or mailed more than $890,000 to Doyle in Hawaii as deposits for "GO Zone" investments that were never built, the indictment said.

For each of the wire and mail fraud counts, Doyle could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.

Doyle is expected to surrender to the FBI before his Feb. 1 arraignment, Simon said.