Businessman, 2 attorneys sentenced in multimillion-dollar scheme to bribe Hawai‘i County public official

Three men have been sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy to pay bribes to a public official at the Hawai‘i County Office of Housing and Community Development in exchange for his official actions in connection with affordable housing development agreements worth more than $11,000,000.

Big Island attorney Gary Charles Zamber, 56, of Kea‘au, was sentenced to 70 months in prison.

Former Big Island businessman, Rajesh Pankaj Budhabhatti, 65, of Morro Bay, Calif., was sentenced to 90 months in prison. Former Big Island attorney, Paul Joseph Sulla, 79, of Hilo, was sentenced to 60 months in prison.

On June 4, 2025, a jury in the District of Hawai‘i convicted Sulla, Zamber, and Budhabhatti on all counts of a superseding indictment. The three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and nine counts of honest services wire fraud for their roles in a scheme to bribe Alan Scott Rudo, a Housing Specialist at the county housing department.

Sulla was also convicted of money laundering.

Sulla was sentenced on April 23. Zamber and Budhabhatti were sentenced on Jan. 30 and Feb. 6.

“This wasn’t just corruption – it was a calculated betrayal of the very community the defendants were supposed to serve,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Instead of building homes for struggling families looking for an onramp to a better life, the defendants built a scheme to enrich themselves, paying millions in bribes and kickbacks while pretending to help those in need.

“That kind of greed doesn’t just break the law – it erodes trust, damages institutions, robs honest businesses of opportunities and harms American citizens. The Criminal Division is committed to pursuing those who abuse positions of trust for personal gain.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sulla, Zamber, and Budhabhatti conspired to pay bribes and kickbacks to Rudo in exchange for Rudo’s agreement to use his official position to ensure that Hawai‘i County approved three affordable housing agreements benefitting the defendants’ development companies, Luna Loa Developments LLC, West View Developments, LLC and Plumeria at Waikoloa LLC.

Although the defendants promised in the agreements to build affordable housing for the citizens of Hawai‘i County, their development companies never built a single unit. Through the agreements, the defendants fraudulently obtained more than $11,000,000 worth of land and excess affordable housing credits.

From that amount, the defendants paid or attempted to pay Rudo approximately $1,931,778 in bribes and kickbacks.

“Driven by greed, the defendants sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the Hawaiian community, diverting millions in much-needed affordable housing resources intended to benefit Hawai‘i County’s poor and disadvantaged into the defendants’ own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson for the District of Hawai‘i. “Public corruption undermines faith in our institutions and will not be tolerated. We pledge to hold accountable those who seek to victimize the people of Hawaii by compromising our public officials and institutions for their own greed and personal gain.”

Rudo, who pleaded guilty and testified at trial, will be sentenced at a later date.

Zamber’s and Sulla’s law licenses are currently suspended, prohibiting them from practicing law in Hawai‘i.

“This sentencing marks another step toward accountability for those who pollute the integrity of our government institutions with bribes and kickbacks,” said Special Agent in Charge David Porter of the FBI Honolulu Field Office. “The defendants’ criminal schemes amounted to more than bribery and fraud — they stole opportunities from Big Island families and our community as a whole.

“The FBI, alongside our partners, will never stop working to pursue those who undermine the public’s trust and weaken the foundations of our community through corruption and deceit.”