A former secretary for a prominent Hawaiʻi engineering firm has been criminally charged with making illegal political contributions — a rare campaign finance indictment in a state with a history of “pay to play.” 

The Hawaiʻi Attorney General’s Office indicted Terri Ann Otani, 70, with four counts of making false name contributions. In July 2020, Otani allegedly donated a total of $2,000 to Honolulu mayoral candidate Colleen Hanabusa in the names of her sister and niece even though those family members were not the actual source of the money. 

“Campaign contribution laws are important safeguards that ensure the integrity of our electoral process,” Attorney General Anne Lopez said in a statement Wednesday. “The Department of the Attorney General will vigorously investigate and prosecute individuals that violate those laws.”

Doris Lum, Otani’s attorney, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon. The indictment does not allege Hanabusa participated in any wrongdoing. 

Otani was a secretary for Mitsunaga & Associates, a politically connected firm that has received millions of dollars in government contracts and whose employees are prolific campaign donors. The firm’s generosity to political candidates was spotlighted in a criminal conspiracy trial last year. 

Feds Lay Groundwork For State Charges

Former CEO Dennis Mitsunaga, Otani and several other firm associates were charged with steering nearly $50,000 in campaign funds to former Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro so that he would go after one of the firm’s ex-employees. All defendants, however, were acquitted after a weekslong jury trial. 

After the verdict, the vindicated Mitsunaga team and Kaneshiro celebrated in front of the federal courthouse with Mitsunaga slapping Kaneshiro on the back and encouraging him to run for office again. 

But the facts revealed in the federal trial provided fodder for state charges. The Hawaiʻi Campaign Spending Commission launched its investigation after Civil Beat made the agency aware of admissions made in federal court. 

Otani’s relatives testified on the stand that Otani had donated more than $38,000 to political candidates in their names between 2010 and 2020. 

Her niece, Jodee Haugh, appeared on paper to be a frequent campaign donor who gave away some $25,000 over the last two decades. In reality, she testified, she’d only ever given $5 to Neil Abercrombie.

At times, Haugh wasn’t even living in Hawaiʻi and was not familiar with the politicians to whom she was ostensibly donating.

Haugh testified in court that she did not have access to $25,000 in discretionary income to give to the candidates at the time.

Haugh said she trusted her “Aunty Terri,” who allegedly assured her niece that this practice was “100% legal and OK to do.”

The jury saw copies of cashier’s checks Otani had allegedly purchased showing the memo line filled out with the relatives’ names. The money was then allegedly donated to campaigns.

Federal prosecutors alleged false-name contributions were part of a Mitsunaga scheme to influence politicians with power over construction projects. Mitsunaga’s defense team argued that campaign donations, even those intended to influence, are legal and a form of constitutionally protected free speech.

Lois Mitsunaga – who succeeded her father as CEO of Mitsunaga & Associates, or MAI – said in a statement this week that Otani hasn’t worked for the firm since 2018.

“Any actions she may have taken after her employment ended were personal matters unrelated to MAI,” she said. “The alleged actions that are the subject of recent charges occurred in 2020, years after Ms. Otani’s employment with our firm concluded.”

Criminal charges for straw donations in Hawaiʻi are exceedingly rare. There hasn’t been any such case in at least 20 years.

The case is being prosecuted by Thomas Michener of the AG’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division. The charges were filed on Thursday.

An arraignment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday in state court. Each count is a Class C felony offense punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

State law says fraudulent campaign donations can be escheated from the campaign’s bank account into state coffers, but Hanabusa’s account is already empty and closed. 

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Terri Ann Otani and Dennis Mitsunaga no longer work for Mitsunaga & Associates.