Former Honolulu City and County employee charged in alleged $800,000 Hawaiʻi Foodbank fraud scheme

The Department of the Attorney General’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division (SIPD) has charged former City and County of Honolulu employee Dexter Kishida with Theft in the First Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree and Official Misconduct in connection with an alleged scheme that caused the Hawaiʻi Foodbank to expend approximately $800,000 based on false representations that reimbursement funding was available. He was arrested Monday by SIPD on the charges.

The felony information case, filed in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, alleges that between December 2021 and August 2023, Kishida, while employed as the Food Security and Sustainability Program Manager for the City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Economic Revitalization, represented to the Hawaiʻi Foodbank that CARES Act funding was available and persuaded the organization to purchase and distribute approximately $800,000 worth of food for Oʻahu residents. The Hawaiʻi Foodbank was allegedly never reimbursed for those expenditures.

The charges further allege that Kishida created or altered a City and County purchase order and fabricated emails to make it appear that reimbursement was being processed, despite knowing there was no authorized contract or funding for the project.

“When public officials allegedly misuse their positions and provide false information that causes significant financial harm, we have a responsibility to investigate thoroughly and pursue accountability through the criminal justice system,” said Attorney General Anne Lopez.

Theft in the First Degree is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. Forgery in the Second Degree and Official Misconduct are class C felonies punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

The case, State v. Dexter Kishida, 1CPC-26-0000756, is being prosecuted by SIPD Deputy Attorney General Cheuk Fu Lui. Arraignment is scheduled for June 29, 2026 at 8:30 a.m.

Kishida is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.