Lawyers agree on sentencing date in corruption case for Katherine and Louis Kealoha

Sentencing in the state’s biggest corruption investigation could now happen in November after it was postponed by the coronavirus pandemic.

A letter from U.S. prosecutors to a judge was filed in court today, saying the sides have agreed on a sentencing date of Nov. 3 for former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his now-estranged wife, Katherine Kealoha, who was a former high-ranking city prosecutor.

A jury convicted them last year of conspiracy in a plot to frame a relative to keep him from revealing fraud that financed their lavish lifestyle.

Sentencing hearings for the couple had been originally scheduled for March. The judge postponed because of concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.

Lawyers have agreed on Nov. 4 for sentencing of two former officers convicted with the Kealohas.

A status hearing is scheduled for next week.

U.S. prosecutors have recommended Katherine Kealoha be sent to prison for 14 years and her husband be locked up for about half that time because they abused their positions of trust to commit corrupt acts at the highest levels of law enforcement.

To avoid a second trial, the Kealohas later pleaded guilty to bank fraud, saying they provided false information to obtain loans.

Katherine Kealoha also pleaded guilty to an identity theft charge, saying she got a police officer to forge a police report she used to explain negative information on a credit report. She also pleaded guilty to a charge that involved her protecting her brother from a drug investigation.

Louis Kealoha filed for divorce in October.