Former Honolulu City and County Employee Charged in Alleged $800,000 Hawaiʻi Foodbank Fraud Scheme (Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General news release)
Summary
Hawaiʻi's Department of the Attorney General charged former City and County of Honolulu employee Dexter Kishida with Theft in the First Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree and Official Misconduct over an alleged scheme that led the Hawaiʻi Foodbank to spend approximately $800,000, the department announced on June 22, 2026. The felony information alleges that between December 2021 and August 2023, while Food Security and Sustainability Program Manager in the city's Office of Economic Revitalization, Kishida told the Foodbank that CARES Act funding was available and persuaded it to buy about $800,000 worth of food for Oʻahu residents; the Foodbank was allegedly never reimbursed. The charges also allege a created or altered purchase order and fabricated emails. Kishida was arrested the day of the release, with arraignment set for June 29, 2026, and is presumed innocent.
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STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
KE KIAʻĀINA
DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
KA ʻOIHANA O KA LOIO KUHINA
ANNE LOPEZ
ATTORNEY GENERAL
LOIO KUHINA
FORMER HONOLULU CITY AND COUNTY EMPLOYEE CHARGED IN
ALLEGED $800,000 HAWAIʻI FOODBANK FRAUD SCHEME
News Release 2026-35
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2026
HONOLULU – The Department of the Attorney General’s Special Investigation and
Prosecution Division (SIPD) has charged former City and County of Honolulu employee
Dexter Kishida with Theft in the First Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree and Official
Misconduct in connection with an alleged scheme that caused the Hawaiʻi Foodbank to
expend approximately $800,000 based on false representations that reimbursement
funding was available. He was arrested today by SIPD on the charges.
The felony information case, filed in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, alleges that
between December 2021 and August 2023, Kishida, while employed as the Food
Security and Sustainability Program Manager for the City and County of Honolulu’s
Office of Economic Revitalization, represented to the Hawaiʻi Foodbank that CARES Act
funding was available and persuaded the organization to purchase and distribute
approximately $800,000 worth of food for Oʻahu residents. The Hawaiʻi Foodbank was
allegedly never reimbursed for those expenditures.
Department of the Attorney General
News Release 2026-35
Page 2
The charges further allege that Kishida created or altered a City and County purchase
order and fabricated emails to make it appear that reimbursement was being processed,
despite knowing there was no authorized contract or funding for the project.
“When public officials allegedly misuse their positions and provide false information that
causes significant financial harm, we have a responsibility to investigate thoroughly and
pursue accountability through the criminal justice system,” said Attorney General Anne
Lopez.
Theft in the First Degree is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a
fine of up to $25,000. Forgery in the Second Degree and Official Misconduct are class C
felonies punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The case, State v. Dexter Kishida, 1CPC-26-0000756, is being prosecuted by SIPD
Deputy Attorney General Cheuk Fu Lui. Arraignment is scheduled for June 29, 2026 at
8:30 a.m.
Kishida is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
###
Media contacts:
Dave Day
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
Office: 808-586-1284
Email: david.d.day@hawaii.gov
Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov
Toni Schwartz
Public Information Officer
Hawai‘i Department of the Attorney General
Office: 808-586-1252
Cell: 808-379-9249
Email: Toni.E.Schwartz@hawaii.gov
Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov
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