Aiea High locks gate a day after fight at park

Aiea High School temporarily locked its front gates Friday as a precaution after rumors spread on campus about a possible fight.

School officials closed the gates from 12:20 to 1 p.m., according to Aiea-Moanalua-Radford Complex Area Superintendent John Erickson.

Erickson noted there was no lockdown on campus and no disruption to classes.

“It was just precautionary. Nothing happened, which is good,” he said.

The rumors followed a large fight after school Thursday at a nearby park.

At about 3 p.m. Thursday, police said, 30 officers responded to the fight at Makalapa Park in Aiea. An estimated 100 people had gathered at the park, police said.

There were no arrests.

Shayne Enright, spokeswoman of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, said paramedics took two males, ages 16 and 21, to a hospital Thursday after the fight. One male was in serious condition, and the other was in stable condition.

Funds sought to aid victims of Fiji cyclone

Fundraisers will be held in Laie today and Monday to assist victims in Fiji impacted by Cyclone Winston.

A fundraiser is set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the Temple View Apartments, Apt. S120, 55-550 Naniloa Loop, Brigham Young University-Hawaii. Fijian curry plates will be available for $10 each.

T-shirts will also be sold for $10 each on campus Monday.

Cyclone Winston, a Category 5 storm, slammed Fiji in February, killed at least 43 people and destroyed many homes and crops.

A GoFundMe page, “Help Cyclone Winston victims,” has been created to raise money for shipping costs to send the donated food, clothing and supplies to Fiji. Organizers hope to raise $7,000. So far, they have collected $510.

For information about making a donation, visit bit.ly/21nyKZf.

Mom, daughter fined $14,000 in fraud scheme

A Hawaii island mother and daughter were fined more than $14,000 and ordered to do community service after pleading guilty Thursday to Medicaid fraud.

Susan Escobar and her daughter, Yolanda Cristina Escobar Hiro, pleaded guilty to second-degree theft before Circuit Judge Glenn Hara.

Escobar, former office manager of Mastercare — a home health care services company that was contracted by the state to provide services to Medicaid recipients in their home — created false progress notes and time sheets, according to state Attorney General Doug Chin.

The notes and time sheets were for work that was never actually performed by Hiro. The fraudulently billed services were for Escobar’s former mother-in-law, a Medicaid recipient, living with Escobar. An investigation revealed that it was impossible for Hiro to provide any services in Hilo since she resided, operated a child care business and held a part-time job at a hotel in Kona.

“Medicaid funds received by the State of Hawaii from the federal government provide services to people in need and are diminished whenever a provider commits this type of fraud,” Chin said.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, Hara granted the defendants’ request for a deferral and ordered them to pay $7,000 for partial investigative costs, restitution in the amount of $7,068, and 200 hours of community service work. Escobar and Hiro paid the full amount at the time of sentencing.