The former business manager of a Hawaii labor union who was convicted of rigging a vote to raise dues and taking members’ money to pay for his family’s extravagant lifestyle was sentenced Thursday morning to more than 11 years in federal prison.

Brian Ahakuelo’s attorney, Caroline M. Elliot, said the 62-year-old former business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260 will appeal the sentence.

“Labor leaders have a fiduciary duty to their members, and in this case, the jury returned its verdict after hearing extensive testimony and reviewing voluminous documentary evidence of Brian and Marilyn Ahakuelo’s criminal violation of that duty,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors in a statement. “Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure criminal consequences in a court of law when this type of misconduct occurs.”

Leroy Chincio, current business manager of Local 1260, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an interview that the union moved on and “refocused” from the Ahakuelo crimes the moment he was removed from office. The union does business transparently, with all members involved and keenly aware of their role in every decision the union makes, he said.

“We’re glad justice is served, finally. It’s been seven years. We’ve moved on as a union. This is just one example of a bad person doing bad things. It does not reflect on the union members who stood strong,” he said. “We refocused on the whole purpose of a union. That’s to give the members a voice and a bigger say in their workplace and in the community.”

Elliot asked Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor to sentence her client, an Army veteran whose father once led the same union, to the 140 months recommended by the U.S. Pro­bation Office. The U.S. Department of Justice had asked Gillmor to sentence Ahakuelo to 14 years in federal prison.

Elliot told the Star- Advertiser after the sen­tencing that Attorneys for Freedom is proud to represent Ahakuelo, and while it didn’t represent him at trial, it will represent him on appeal and “will be arguing all appellate issues that are in his best interest.”

“Brian has maintained his innocence since this began four years ago. That’s why he chose to go to trial last October, that’s why we will be entering notice of appeal and that’s why we will continue fighting to clear his name,” said Elliot.

After serving his time, Ahakuelo, 62, will be on supervised release for three years. Ahakuelo asked Gillmor to recommend that he serve his time at either the Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola in Florida or the Federal Prison Camp, Montgomery in Alabama.

Ahakuelo, who is in custody at the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu, asked Gillmor whether he could be released and self-report to prison. Gillmor denied the request.

He will pay restitution in the amount recommended by the U.S. Probation Office, $209,391.72; a forfeiture judgment was previously entered March 15 in the amount of $60,212.49.

Brian Ahakuelo and Marilyn Ahakuelo were both convicted Nov. 19 of one count of conspiracy and 42 counts of wire fraud. The couple was also convicted of embezzlement of a labor union asset, six counts for Brian Ahakuelo and three counts for Marilyn Ahakuelo. Brian Aha­kuelo alone was convicted of 19 counts of money laundering.

Marilyn Ahakuelo was sentenced March 28 to 70 months in federal prison.

“Former Vice President Hubert Humphrey once said, ‘America is a living testimonial to what free men and women, organized in free democratic trade unions, can do to make a better life.’ Unfortunately, Brian and Marilyn Ahakuelo used their union to better their own lives, causing immense harm to all their fellow union members,” said Special Agent in Charge Adam Jobes of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Seattle Field Office, in a statement. “Let today’s sentence be a cautionary tale to other would-be fraudsters that IRS-CI is committed to bringing criminals like the Ahakuelos to justice.”

Brian Ahakuelo was elected business manager and financial secretary of Local 1260 in June 2011, reelected in 2014 and served until May 2016, when IBEW placed Local 1260 in an emergency trusteeship.

Local 1260 represents about 3,000 electrical workers, broadcast and cable television workers, warehouse employees, government workers and others in Hawaii and on Guam.

“Brian Ahakuelo betrayed the hardworking union members of the IBEW Local 1260,” said state Attorney General Anne E. Lopez in a statement. “This case demonstrates the commitment of the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General to collaborate with our federal partners in investigating and prosecuting those who abuse their positions of trust in this state.”

The union was financially sound, had $700,000 in cash reserves and owned a building worth approximately $5 million when Ahakuelo took over the top job.

Ahakuelo “drastically increased” local union spending by hiring additional staff, including five family members — his wife, sister-in-law, son, daughter-in-law and son-in-law — and increased “the frequency and extravagance of local union travel” including months-long stays in Las Vegas under the guise of legitimate union business.

The Ahakuelo family got about $600,000 a year in salary, in some instances for very little work.

Brian Aha­kuelo also increased pay for a woman he had an extramarital affair with, according to a June 13 sentencing memo authored by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Albanese.

In less than five years, Ahakuelo spent all of the union’s reserves, requiring a dues increase to keep the organization solvent.

“Brian Ahakuelo betrayed the trust of the union membership to protect and safeguard their union’s funds for the benefit of its members. The Office of Labor-Management Standards will continue to protect unions by bringing to justice, and seeking restitution from, any official who chooses to use union funds for their own benefit,” said Ed Oquendo, district director, Los Angeles District Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, in a statement.

After he was removed as business manager, Ahakuelo got a job as a delivery driver from September 2020 through January 2021, but was suspended after “he was suspected of stealing a parcel,” according to federal court documents.

He then worked as a box truck driver from April through September 2021 but was terminated for not reporting an accident and damage to the company vehicle.