10 District of Hawaiʻi Assistant US Attorneys, staff, and agents honored at 2026 Director’s Awards

Ten District of Hawaiʻi Assistant US Attorneys, staff, and agents honored at 2026 Director’s Awards held Oct. 28 in Washington, D.C.

The team received the Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigation Team for their role in the investigation and prosecution of the Miske Enterprise, led by Michael J. Miske, which was a violent criminal organization operating in Hawaiʻi for decades.

Honorees included:

• Assistant US Attorney Michael D. Nammar
• Assistant US Attorney Aislinn K. Affinito
• Victim Assistance Specialist Leilani Uganiza
• Supervisory IT Specialist Cheryl Tagaca
• Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Kari Sherman
• All of the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaiʻi
• Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Murray Acosta
• IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Shaun Morita
• Environmental Protection Agency Special Agent Jan Yukumoto
• FBI Special Agent Thomas Palmer
• FBI Special Agent Joshua Parker

The honorees were among 183 Department of Justice employees recognized by Attorney General Todd Blanche and Executive Office for US Attorneys Director Francey Hakes. The awards recognize outstanding achievements by employees of the US Attorney’s Offices.

Although not eligible for the Director’s Award, having since left the Department of Justice, the team also included former Assistant US Attorneys Mark Inciong and KeAupuni Akina. Inciong was the lead prosecutor who directed the investigation and prosecution of the Miske Enterprise and served as lead counsel at the trial of Michael J. Miske. Inciong retired in March 2025 after nearly 27 years of service as a federal prosecutor.

“I could not be prouder of the tireless work of the outstanding Assistant US Attorneys, staff, and agents who dismantled the Miske Enterprise and brought Michael Miske’s reign of murder, felony assaults, kidnappings, intimidation, chemical attacks, drug trafficking, and fraud to an end,” said US Attorney Ken Sorenson. “Miske and his henchmen were a scourge upon the State of Hawaiʻi, terrorizing our communities and openly profiting from violence, drug trafficking, and fraud. In addition to those who received the Director’s Award, this achievement belongs to the many additional agents, staff members, and other prosecutors who assisted our team in this extraordinary prosecution, including those like lead Assistant US Attorney Mark Inciong, who have since left the Department of Justice or law enforcement.”

Following an investigation lasting more than 10 years, the team presented a seven-month federal trial involving thousands of exhibits and hundreds of witnesses. Its work addressed racketeering activities involving murder, kidnapping, murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, fraud, obstruction, and chemical weapons attacks. The investigation and prosecutions resulted in the federal convictions of 20 members and associates, including Michael J. Miske, who was convicted at trial. The team’s sustained preparation and coordination dismantled the enterprise and strengthened public safety in communities throughout Hawaiʻi.

The convictions were the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Honolulu Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the

Cybercrime Lab of the Department of Justice Criminal Division Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, the Honolulu Fire Department, the Hawaii National Guard, 93rd Civil Support Team, the Office of Investigations-Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. EOUSA provides oversight, general executive assistance, and direction to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country.

For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.