A third-generation Kamaka ukulele builder and manager avoided prison time for failing to file general excise tax returns for six years and racking up a bill of more than $115,000 for the 109-year-old business.

The state objected to the deferred sentence, according to the state Department of the Attorney General, and Frederick Ku Kamaka, Jr., the former business manager of Kamaka Hawaii, Inc., the oldest ukulele manufacturer in Hawaii, pled guilty Mar. 5 before Judge Erika Ireland.

Kamaka Hawaii, Inc. was founded by Kamaka Jr.’s grandfather, Samuel Kaialiilii Kamaka Sr.. The company was first known as the Kamaka Ukulele and Guitar Works.

The state did not disclose why they objected to no jail time for Kamaka Jr. His attorney, Howard T. Chang, did not immediately reply to Star-Advertiser request for comment.

Today the state dismissed the criminal case against Kamaka Hawaii, Inc., after the company paid back taxes exceeding $115,000 to the Department of Taxation.

Kamaka Jr. was granted a deferred acceptance of guilty plea to six counts of willful failure to file returns. Kamaka Jr. was charged by state criminal complaint on Aug. 5, according to court records.

The company, which builds about 4,000 ukuleles a year, still owes civil penalties and interest, according to the AG’s office.

Kamaka Jr. entered into a plea agreement with the state and will pay $20,000 to the Hawaii State Tax Collector, perform 100 hours of community service and “be under court supervision for one year,” according to a news release from the AG’s office.

The case was investigated by the Hawaii Department of Taxation’s Criminal Investigation Section and prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General David Williams of the of the Criminal Justice Division.