The Maui News

WAILUKU — A woman has been ordered to repay nearly $16,000 in welfare benefits she received while not reporting all of her family’s income.

Kalai Asuela, 36, of Makawao was placed on one year’s probation after pleading no contest to welfare fraud and a reduced charge of third-degree theft.

“This went on for two and a half years,” 2nd Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo said in sentencing Asuela on Wednesday. “That’s a really long time to accumulate a lot of benefits you weren’t entitled to. A lot of people were in worse situations. A lot of people needed this money more than you did.”

Deputy Prosecutor Annalisa Bernard Lee said the theft charge against Asuela was reduced to a misdemeanor, in part based on her lack of a prior record and a willingness to pay back the money.

Asuela said the reduced charge allowed her to have airport clearance “so that I could keep my job.”

When Judge Loo asked Asuela if she had paid back any of the money, she said no.

“You need to pay back this money,” Loo told Asuela.

The judge denied Asuela’s request for a chance to keep the convictions off her record, noting she hadn’t shown up for court hearings a couple of times.

Asuela was ordered to repay $15,725 to the state Department of Human Services.

She was credited for three days she spent in jail.

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