MEMORANDUM in Opposition by USA as to Martin Kao re 38 MOTION to Modify Conditions of Release ;… — USA v. Kao (Dkt. 47)

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The government's opposition to defendant Martin Kao's Motion to Modify Conditions of Release 7p2 in United States v. Martin Kao, CR. NO. 21-00061 JAO, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, Document 47 in No. 1:21-cr-00061-LEK, dated May 26, 2021. The government states that its primary concern is that the defendant has the means and motive to flee the United States. It states that the defendant's disclosures to Pretrial Services show $5,965,000 in assets, while a Personal Financial Statement signed September 14, 2020 reported a total net worth of $70,036,764. It asks that the motion be denied. The signature block names Craig S. Nolan, Assistant U.S. Attorney, with /s/.

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JUDITH A. PHILPS 
Acting United States Attorney 
District of Hawaii 
 
CRAIG S. NOLAN 
Assistant U.S. Attorney 
Room 6-100, PJKK Federal Building 
300 Ala Moana Boulevard 
Honolulu, Hawaii  96850 
Telephone: (808) 541-2850 
Facsimile: (808) 541-2958 
Email:  Craig.Nolan@usdoj.gov 
 
Attorneys for Plaintiff 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII 
 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
Plaintiff, 
vs. 
MARTIN KAO, 
Defendant. 
______________________________ 
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CR. NO. 21-00061 JAO 
GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO 
MOTION TO MODIFY 
CONDITIONS OF RELEASE 7p2; 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
 
GOVERNMENT’S OPPOSITION TO 
MOTION TO MODIFY CONDITIONS OF RELEASE 7p2 
 
The United States hereby opposes defendant’s Motion to Modify Conditions 
of Release 7p2 (ECF No. 38).  The government had planned to respond only 
through oral argument, but is filing this short written memorandum to respond to 
Case 1:21-cr-00061-LEK     Document 47     Filed 05/26/21     Page 1 of 5  PageID.186

 
 
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factual assertions by defendant contained in the Pretrial Services Office (“PTS”) 
report received by the undersigned through email at 8:30 am today (May 26, 2001). 
As articulated to the Court at the detention hearing in October 2020, the 
government’s primary concern is that defendant has the means and motive to flee 
the United States.  He is a naturalized citizen who was born in Taiwan and either 
owns land in Taiwan or has proceeds of the sale of that land waiting for him in 
Taiwan.  According to the PTS report, defendant disclosed that last month he 
closed on the sale of land in Taiwan resulting in approximately $800,000 in 
proceeds that awaits him in Taiwan.  He asserts also that he has $560,000 (rather 
than the $925,000 shown in his bank statements) in cash, and real properties with a 
collective value of $11,955,000 subject to mortgages with a collective total of 
$7,350,000 for total equity of $4,605,000.  Thus, based on defendant’s disclosures 
to PTS, defendant has $5,965,000 in assets available to him. 
That number is, however, dwarfed by the much greater wealth defendant 
disclosed to a local bank 16 days prior to his arrest in September 2020.  In the 
Personal Financial Statement signed by defendant on September 14, 2020, 
defendant represented to that bank that he had a total net worth of $70,036,764.  
See Ex. 1 at 1.  Among those assets were: 
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Case 1:21-cr-00061-LEK     Document 47     Filed 05/26/21     Page 2 of 5  PageID.187

 
 
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• $16,868,508 in stocks and bonds (subject to an $800,000 margin loan) 
that appear nowhere in the most recent PTS report and appear as only 
$2,500,000 in the October 1, 2020 PTS report; and 
• $45,730,000 in real estate (including a representation that the land in 
Taiwan was worth $24,630,000) with loan balances of $7,100,000 for 
total collective equity of $38,630,000. 
See id. at 1, 3. 
 
Setting aside the $13,838,256 in investment in business and the $1,000,000 
in automobiles disclosed to the bank, as well as the $2,000,000 seized by the 
government from defendant’s brokerage account in September 2020, defendant has 
$53,198,508 in assets available to him based on the wealth he reported to the bank.  
Additionally, defendant represented to the bank that he owned outright a residence 
in Japan worth $3,900,000, which he did not disclose to PTS. 
 
In sum, defendant has either violated 18 U.S.C. § 1001 by providing false 
and incomplete material information to this Court through PTS, or defendant has 
committed additional bank fraud not yet charged against a bank that provided his 
company with, among other things, a line of credit personally guaranteed by 
defendant, see id. at 1, or he has done both.  In any event, defendant has between 
$5.9 million and $53.2 million in assets—including significant assets in one or two 
Case 1:21-cr-00061-LEK     Document 47     Filed 05/26/21     Page 3 of 5  PageID.188

 
 
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foreign countries—available to him to flee prosecution in the United States and to 
support a more than comfortable lifestyle overseas. 
 
Defendant first came before the Court after being charged with bank fraud 
and money laundering by Complaint.  He now stands indicted for wire fraud and 
money laundering, and faces—if convicted—a significant imprisonment range 
under the advisory Sentencing Guidelines, as well as hefty fines, restitution, and 
forfeiture.  He has ties to two foreign countries, one of which (Taiwan) does not 
have an extradition treaty with the United States.  Defendant’s own written 
statements to a local bank are incompatible with his statements to PTS.  Under 
either set of numbers, he has the means and motive to flee prosecution even 
without a passport.  The proposed modification of conditions makes it easier to 
flee.  Consequently, defendant’s motion should be denied.  
 
DATED:  May 26, 2021, at Honolulu, Hawaii. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Respectfully submitted,  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
JUDITH A. PHILPS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Acting United States Attorney 
District of Hawaii 
 
 
By /s/ Craig S. Nolan  
 
 
   CRAIG S. NOLAN 
   Assistant U.S. Attorney
Case 1:21-cr-00061-LEK     Document 47     Filed 05/26/21     Page 4 of 5  PageID.189

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
 
I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the attached was duly served 
upon the following person as set forth below:  
 
Served Electronically by CM/ECF and Email:  
MICHAEL JAY GREEN (michael@michaeljaygreen.com) 
VICTOR J. BAKKE (vbakke@bakkelawfirm.com) 
Attorneys for Defendant 
MARTIN KAO 
 
 
DATED: 
May 26, 2021, at Honolulu, Hawaii.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Craig S. Nolan  
 
CRAIG S. NOLAN 
Assistant U.S. Attorney 
Case 1:21-cr-00061-LEK     Document 47     Filed 05/26/21     Page 5 of 5  PageID.190

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