ATG NEWS RELEASE: Principal and Vice Principal of the Myron B. Thompson Academy plead no contest to criminal charges
Posted on Jun 15, 2016 in Latest Department NewsHONOLULU – Attorney General Doug Chin announced that Diana Oshiro, principal of the Myron B. Thompson Academy public charter school (Academy) pleaded no contest today to one count of tampering with a government record before State Circuit Court Judge Richard K. Perkins. Oshiro’s sister, Academy Vice Principal Kurumi Kaapani-Aki, also pleaded no contest to one count of theft in the second degree and one count of tampering with a government record. Under a plea bargain with the State:
- Oshiro has been sentenced to one (1) year deferral supervision. She must also complete forty (40) hours of community service, write a letter of apology to the governing board of the Academy, and pay court fees;
- Kaapani-Aki has been sentenced to four (4) years deferral supervision for the felony theft charge and one (1) year deferral supervision for the charge of tampering with a government record. She must also complete seventy-five (75) hours of community service, write a letter of apology to the governing board of the Academy, and pay court fees.
Attorney General Chin said, “As educators and leaders, the defendants were placed in leadership positions of trust. Their actions violated that trust and it is fitting that they are being held responsible.”
The felony theft charge against Kaapana-Aki stemmed from an alleged fraudulent scheme spanning from May 22, 2007 to March 28, 2013, during which she took 119 hours of unauthorized paid leave that resulted in a $6,238.73 loss of public funds. The misdemeanor charge against both defendants for tampering with a government record stemmed from the sisters’ subsequent efforts to prepare official school leave forms to cover the 119 hours of unauthorized leave and backdate the forms to make it appear as though they had been prepared contemporaneously with the leave taken.
Theft in the second degree is a class C felony and tampering with a government record is a misdemeanor. Because neither Oshiro nor Kaapani-Aki has a prior criminal record, each of them was able to seek a deferral of her plea, and by agreement the State did not oppose their requests.
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For more information, contact:
Joshua A. Wisch
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
(808) 586-1284