Ex-exec pleads no contest to theft of townhouse funds

The fired chief executive officer of a property management company pleaded no contest in state court Aug. 13 to charges that she stole nearly $135,000 from three Oahu townhouse associations she managed.

Toni Ann Floerke pleaded no contest to 13 counts of second-degree theft and two counts of first-degree theft.

Second-degree theft involves property or services valued at more than $300. First-degree theft involves property or services valued at more that $20,000.

In addition to pleading no contest, Floerke asked the court to defer her no-contest pleas. That would give her the opportunity to avoid conviction and have the 15 charges wiped off her record.

Acting Circuit Judge Paul B.K. Wong scheduled a hearing for October on whether the court will defer Floerke’s pleas or accept them and sentence her on the charges.

“We’re going to strenuously object to any request that this be wiped from her record,” said Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter. “In all likelihood we will be asking for jail time so that she is treated like every other white-collar criminal who commits high-dollar theft.”

The maximum prison terms are 10 years for first-degree theft and five years for second-degree theft.

FLOERKE made her no-contest pleas without the benefit of a plea agreement and less than three weeks before she was scheduled to stand trial.

The 15 charges accuse her of stealing money from the owner associations for Kekuilani Villas and Aeloa Terrace in Kapolei and Kulana Knolls in Royal Kunia between January 2003 and February 2012, when she worked for Certified Hawaii.

A Certified Hawaii spokeswoman said company officials fired Floerke in March 2012 after she confessed. The state charged Floerke with the thefts in 2014.

THE STATE said Floerke had association checks issued to pay off personal expenses including $20,900 for koa furniture, $7,786 for granite countertops in her home, $4,746 for a home security system and service plan, $2,487 for auto repairs for her and her daughter’s vehicles, $2,000 for new tires and $27,800 for gift certificates.

Floerke also made $10,409 in personal purchases on Kekuilani Villas’ Office Depot, Home Depot and City Mill accounts, and spent $7,507 for home renovations, $3,000 for a concrete driveway for a friend and $4,400 for music lessons for a relative, the state said.

She and her lawyer, Eric Seitz, declined comment.