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A state investigation alleges that developer JL Capital’s CEO engaged in false-
name contributions in two 2020 Honolulu mayoral campaigns.
In October 2020, a whistleblower reported, through attorney Andrew Stewart, to the state Campaign Spending Commission that he and other employees of Honolulu-
based investment firm JL Capital and its affiliate JL Ala Moana LLC were directed by the company’s CEO, Timothy Lee, to make donations by check to the mayoral campaigns of Kym Pine and Keith Amemiya.
Lee then allegedly reimbursed the employees in cash and checks totaling $12,000 drawn from a personal checking account.
The investigation, conducted by commission staff, alleges eight counts of false-name contributions. A complaint, signed March 9 by the commission’s executive director, Kristin Izumi-Nitao, recommends turning the case over to the state Office of the Attorney General. The charge of a false-name contribution is a Class C felony.
On Wednesday the commission postponed a hearing on the matter until
April 20 after Lee’s lawyer, David Minkin, requested a continuance due to a scheduling conflict.
Gary Kam, general counsel for the commission, said the investigation did not focus on donation recipients or check-writing employees.
In a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Amemiya said, “We were unaware that anyone was being reimbursed for their donation by Mr. Lee and the CSC has confirmed that we’re not the subject of any investigation regarding this or any other matter.”
Amemiya, who is now a candidate in this year’s race for lieutenant governor, said, “We’ve been fully cooperating with the Campaign Spending Commission’s
investigation and will be
refunding the donations to the CSC.”
Pine did not return a call for comment.
Pine’s campaign received $8,000 from four JL Capital employees in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $4,000. Amemiya’s campaign got $4,000 from the same four, who each wrote checks for $1,000.
State law allows people
to make donations of up to $4,000 in mayoral races.
JL Ala Moana LLC, developer of the $500 million Sky Honolulu (Sky Ala Moana) condominium project, is owned by Joon-ho Lee, who, according to Forbes, ranks among South Korea’s richest two dozen billionaires. JL Capital, headed by Lee, has invested millions of dollars in properties in the Ala Moana area.
According to the complaint, relayed to the commission by Stewart, shortly after the whistleblower began working at JL Capital
in 2020, Lee approached
employees about making contributions to the mayoral campaigns. Lee allegedly told him to write a $1,000 check to Amemiya’s campaign and later $2,000 to Friends of Kymberly Pine.
The whistleblower said he subsequently received an envelope with $3,000 in cash inside, the sum of his checks. Bank records show Lee wrote a check June 11, 2020, made payable to $3,000 cash and cashed the check the same day, according to the complaint, which included copies of bank statements, canceled checks and deposit slips as evidence of the allegations.
Minkin, in a March 2 letter, denied Lee gave the whistleblower cash on June 11, 2020, to reimburse for campaign contributions. Rather, Minkin said, Lee terminated the employee June 12, 2020, and had given him a small amount of money from his own personal funds to help in transition to different employment.
Previously, Lee was fined in 2021 for violating a campaign spending law in the same 2020 mayoral election cycle. Lee donated a total of $7,000 to Pine’s campaign — exceeding the state limit by $3,000. He was leveled a fine of $500 but asked for and secured a reduced fine of $166 because it was his first offense.
Pine voluntarily paid the fine on Lee’s behalf and, by law, had to return the $3,000 excess contribution to the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund. Kam said that paying a fine on a donor’s behalf is not unusual for a candidate.
Kam pointed out that Pine’s campaign may have missed the excess contribution because while three of four donations were made under the name Timothy J. Lee, one was donated under Tim Lee. Kam said the Campaign Spending Commission office caught the discrepancy and notified Lee. Pine was not fined.
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