Bookkeeper gets 25 years for stealing nearly $7M from Hawaii nonprofit for disabled

A state judge sentenced the long-time bookkeeper for the Arc in Hawaii to 25 years in prison for stealing nearly $7 million from the organization that provides services to children and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority will decide how much of the 25 years Lola Jean Amorin, 70, will have to spend behind bars before being eligible for parole.

In addition to the prison sentence, Circuit Judge Glenn Kim this morning ordered Amorin to repay The Arc the $6,969,165 she stole over a 19-year span and to pay the state Department of Taxation $337,553 in unpaid taxes for failing to report about half of the stolen money as income.

Tax evasion charges against Amorin span only five years because of the statute of limitations.

Kim sentenced Amorin’s husband, Albert, 72, to four years of probation for failing to report the stolen money as income on his and his wife’s joint tax returns and to share in repaying the unpaid taxes.

Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter said The Arc is unlikely to recover much money from the Amorins because the only assets the couple has, four homes they purchased with the stolen money, have little if any equity.