Former Maui state Rep. Kaniela Ing was fined another $18,250 today after the state Campaign Spending Commission made a “preliminary determination” of probable cause that Ing committed another 24 violations of campaign spending laws.

He previously paid off nearly $22,000 in fines in installments and was charged with a criminal misdemeanor for original Campaign Spending violations.

Ing appeared virtually before the Commission today and vowed to challenge its decision.

For the third hearing in Ing’s most recent case, Ing appeared without legal counsel and said he could not afford representation.

The Commission’s executive director, Kristin Izumi-Nitao, called the case against Ing “unfortunate,” “unprecedented” and “historic.”

But despite two separate Campaign Spending Commission cases against Ing to correct his campaign spending records, Izumi-Nitao said the public will never know who exactly donated to him and how the money was spent during Ing’s three years in the House.

Ing represented South Maui in 2018 and was running for Congress when the commission assessed nearly $22,000 in penalties, administrative fines and restitution for 23 inaccurate reports he filed between 2011 and 2016.

In February 2023, the city Department of the Prosecuting Attorney filed a criminal complaint against Ing alleging that he “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly failed to timely file a supplemental report with the Campaign Spending Commission” by a July 31 deadline for the period covering the first six months of 2022, thereby committing the offense of “failure to timely file (a) supplemental report with the Campaign Spending Commission.”

Ing pled no contest and received a “deferred acceptance of no contest.” He faced the possibility of a year in jail and $2,000 fine.

The Campaign Spending Commission at the time accused Ing of using campaign funds to cover $2,125 in rent for residences on Oahu and Maui and $219 to make a payment on his domestic partner’s credit card account. Ing also deposited a campaign check worth $2,000 into his personal checking account but failed to document it on his campaign spending reports.

The latest 24 accusations included a $1,000 fine for failing to keep records and $750 for each of 23 accusations of filing “23 false amended reports.

In a 12-page statement to the Commission, Ing questioned why Commission staff continued to pursue a case against him instead of other political candidates among several other points, but provided no evidence of why the amended campaign spending reports he filed were accurate.