43 year-old Carey Mills of Hilo pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson to a single-count Information, charging him with wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the Government of program funds intended for Coronavirus-related relief.

According to evidence submitted in court by federal prosecutors, Mills submitted multiple applications for PPP and EIDL funds on behalf of his businesses, Kanaka Maoli Hookupu Center, New Way Horizon Travel, and Uilani Kawailehua Foundation, using interstate wires to submit the applications.  He faked information on payroll documents and IRS forms, which included false employee and wage payment records to increase the amount of money he would qualify for. As a result, Mills received $937,575 in the form of two forgivable PPP loans, one EIDL loan, and one EIDL grant.

Mills will be sentenced October 4 2022 where he faces up to 30 years in prison and up to  $1,000,000 in fines.

The investigation was led by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, with assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of the Inspector General, the Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca M. Perlmutter and Gregg Paris Yates handled the prosecution.