Maui Accountant Gets Prison Sentence for Defrauding Investors

By Wendy Osher

Kimura appeared in 2nd Circuit Court alongside his attorney, Philip Lowenthal in December 2010. Kimura pled guilty to four counts before Judge Joseph Cardoza, including Securities Fraud during last year's court appearance. Photo by Wendy Osher..

A Maui accountant was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 11 years and eight months in prison for defrauding investors.

Judge David A Ezra imposed the sentence on Lloyd Y. Kimura, 61, of Wailuku, for eight counts of mail fraud, bank fraud, and theft from employee benefit plans.

According to the Department of Justice, more than 50 investors and other entities sustained losses in excess of $8 million in a Ponzi scheme and other frauds.

Kimura, who was the president of Maui Industrial Loan & Finance Company, entered into a plea agreement more than a year ago to all four felony counts against him.

According to court documents, Kimura induced victims to invest money with him and a company of which he was President, representing that the company loaned funds to individuals at a high interest rate, usually between 18 and 24 percent. According to the U.S. Justice Department, funds were usually not loaned to individual borrowers or businesses as represented, but were instead eventually expended on Kimura’s personal and business endeavors, including the purchase of land and buildings.

Florence T. Nakakuni, U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii said court document show that victims lost substantial savings, retirement funds and children’s college funds in the scheme.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.