State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole disclosed today that he mistakenly deposited state money for work expense reimbursements into his personal bank account.

Keohokalole (D, Kailua-Kaneohe) announced that he submitted a signed settlement agreement to the Hawaii State Ethics Commission today over deposits totaling $1,264 for plane tickets and food that qualified as reimbursable work expenses.

As part of the agreement, Keohokalole will return the reimbursements from the state and pay a $1,500 fine.

“I am embarrassed by this situation,” Keohokalole said in a statement. “These were mistakes that could have been easily avoided.”

Keohokalole said the commission notified him of an investigation in which he has cooperated over the past few months, and that a review of the reimbursements led to the settlement agreement.

The reimbursements involved Zippy’s food bought for a community town hall meeting in Kaneohe in 2020 and two airline trips to government conference events on the mainland in 2018 and 2019. Keohokalole paid for these things using his campaign funds and later sought reimbursement from his state legislative allowance account.

The reimbursement payments, however, went into Keohokalole’s personal bank account instead of his campaign fund by mistake, the senator said.

Keohokalole said he has since made changes to his accounting processes personally and in his office to ensure that something of the same sort does not happen again.

“Government transparency matters,” he said in the statement. “Details matter. Things like this make people feel they can’t trust their leaders. In light of the range of recent reports of misconduct by government officials, I felt it important to disclose these violations immediately and publicly, so that my constituents and community understand that I take these matters and their trust seriously. I am moving to resolve them in the most accountable manner possible.”