Lawsuit: Maui Mayor’s Former Chief Of Staff Claims Whistleblower Retaliation
Leo Caires says he was wrongfully terminated after reporting county fraud.
Leo Caires, who served as Maui Mayor Richard Bissen’s chief of staff from January 2023 to October 2024, was met with hostility, demoted and ultimately fired after he uncovered and reported financial misconduct being carried out by other county employees, according to a lawsuit filed in circuit court.
Joseph Rosenbaum, a lawyer representing Caires from Honolulu-based Fujiwara & Rosenbaum, said in a release announcing the lawsuit that Caires “did what any responsible public servant should do” when he reported evidence of fraud related to grants administered by the Maui Office of Economic Development.
“It’s a matter of public concern, and we’re happy to represent an employee who stood by his ethics, and to his own detriment, actually,” Rosenbaum told Civil Beat.
Bissen and other county officials responded to Caires’ concerns by subjecting him to retaliation and wrongful termination in violation of the Hawaiʻi Whistleblowers’ Protection Act and public policy, according to the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages. Caires is demanding a jury trial.
County officials strongly disputed Caires’ claims in a statement provided by a county spokesperson.
“Mr. Caires’ allegations are inaccurate, and the County is confident it will prevail in court,” the statement says. “The concerns he raises were identified by others at the time, and we reject any attempt to revise history.”
Bissen described the decision to fire Caires as one of the most difficult he’s had to make as mayor, according to the county statement. He said he “made significant efforts to support his success,” including through mentorship and training opportunities and gave him a chance to continue working in his administration as energy commissioner.
“Lahaina’s recovery placed extraordinary demands on everyone in public service. Ultimately, it came down to an inability to meet the expectations required,” Bissen said in the statement. “As Mayor, I have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure our team delivers for the people of Maui County. That responsibility requires making difficult decisions.”
The possibility of Caires filing a lawsuit has loomed over the administration for the past year. In July 2025, the Maui County Council approved payments of up to $350,000 to retain the law firm Marr Jones & Wang to represent the county in pre-litigation negotiations and any eventual litigation regarding allegations made by the former chief of staff.
The filing of the lawsuit last week comes three months before voters will get their ballots in the mail for the Aug. 8 primary. Council member Yuki Lei Sugimura, among others, has challenged Bissen in his race for reelection.
Sounding The Alarm
Caires, who had worked in commercial banking and for the federal government, began looking into potential fraud and misuse of public funds in March 2024, after he became suspicious of activity related to a grant awarded to an organization that the complaint calls AVS.
During his investigation, he came to the conclusion that AVS and one of Bissen’s executive assistants at the time had submitted to the county for reimbursement false cashier’s checks for $45,532 that were made out to a fake company, according to the lawsuit. The executive assistant — who court documents refer to as MA and Pono — was also involved in the transaction in other unethical ways, the lawsuit says.
When Caires attempted to open a formal investigation into MA’s conduct, Bissen became upset with him and ordered him to stop, essentially directing him to “ignore illegal activity in the workplace,” according to the complaint. In the weeks that followed, Bissen continued to defend MA’s involvement with various grants and then reassigned MA to a new role issuing grants in the Office of Economic Development, the complaint says.
MA eventually resigned after Caires raised concerns about his reassignment, according to the lawsuit.
Caires continued to review grants administered by the Office of Economic Development, and he discovered that the department’s director at the time — who the complaint calls LM — appeared to be inappropriately using her position to allow family members to benefit from grants, the complaint says. In particular, he questioned a grant awarded to a company that court documents call BMM because the company’s address was listed as that of the director’s husband, her son’s business and the business that she owned before becoming employed by the county, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint refers to most of the people and organizations involved in the case using only initials. The county’s economic development director at the time was Luana Mahi. She oversaw more than $1 million in county grants to nonprofits associated with members of her family. Her son’s nonprofit, Brilliant Minds Media, received three grants totaling $66,250 with a performance period that lasted from April 2023 to June 2024.
After raising his concerns again, Caires did not want to approve or sign off on any further invoices, the complaint says.
The Maui Board of Ethics ruled in July 2024 that Mahi had a conflict of interest with at least one grant awarded by the Office of Economic Development. A month later, she was placed on paid administrative leave, and Bissen announced that he was authorizing an audit of grants administered by her office, emphasizing the county’s “zero-tolerance policy for any ethical violations.”
A LinkedIn profile for Mahi says she worked for Maui County until January 2025.
The complaint also points to a recent Fraud Risk Assessment report submitted by Spire Hawaii for the Maui auditor that found the county’s existing controls were inadequate to mitigate likely fraud risks.
Retaliation And Wrongful Termination
As Bissen’s chief of staff, Caires oversaw the mayor’s other employees, attended high-profile community events, coordinated with federal and military officials, and provided the mayor’s Cabinet with senior-level advice, lawyers for Caires said in a statement. His job duties steadily diminished in the months after Caires first reported his suspicions of misconduct and began refusing to approve grant expenditures that he believed were improper, according to the complaint.
In October 2024, Caires was replaced as chief of staff by Cynthia Lallo, and Bissen’s office said at the time that Caires would transition to a position as the energy commissioner in an administration shakeup aimed at enhancing the reach of renewable energy.
Two months later, Caires was fired upon his return from an approved medical leave for “conditions he developed stemming from the retaliatory acts” of the county and Bissen, the lawsuit says.
In the letter informing Caires of his termination, Bissen said he had “not observed the level of expertise, management skills, attention to detail, or enthusiasm for energy efficiency” that Caires’ position required, and he needed an energy commissioner who was capable of managing an upcoming project.
“Unfortunately, I do not have the confidence in your ability to fulfill this responsibility,” Bissen wrote.
Caires has denied Bissen’s reasons for firing him, according to the lawsuit, and he had never previously been reprimanded or warned that he was not meeting job expectations.
“I stand firmly behind the decision that was made,” Bissen said in the statement, “and I am confident it was the right one for our community. I am disappointed it has come to this.”
Bissen, a former judge, reserved further comment for the court proceedings.
