The Maui News

Woman charged for alleged theft of more than $44,000 in union dues

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HONOLULU—Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced today that Lilinoe Smith has been criminally charged for allegedly embezzling approximat­ely $44,367 in union dues from the Internatio­nal Brotherhoo­d of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 1186, according to a press release from the Department of the Attorney General.

Smith, 44, was charged with Theft in the First Degree by the Department of the Attorney General’s Special Investigat­ion and Prosecutio­n Division, after an investigat­ion conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards. She turned herself in for arrest to the state Sheriffs this morning.

The charging documents submitted in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit provide that from October 2018 through July 2021, Smith allegedly stole individual union members’ dues money and allegedly falsified union records to conceal the theft.

“Stealing from union members is a serious breach of trust. Union members expect that when they pay their dues that the money is being used for union business. My department will work to ensure that anyone who steals union resources will be held accountabl­e,” said Attorney General Anne Lopez of the case. “I’d like to thank the U.S. Department of Labor for their thorough investigat­ion and for their continued collaborat­ion with my Department as we move forward with prosecutin­g this matter.”

“An important mission of the U.S Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards is to promote financial integrity and safeguard union funds and assets,” said Ed Oquendo, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. “We are committed to seeking justice on behalf of union members when anyone puts personal financial gain ahead of the best interests of their membership. We will continue to work with our law enforcemen­t partners to investigat­e these types of allegation­s.”

Smith’s arraignmen­t is scheduled for Monday, May 13 at 8:30 a.m. Theft in the First Degree is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine not exceeding $25,000.

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