Former Kauai sheriff's office clerk pleads guilty to $64,000 theft

Lisa Kuwamura, a former account clerk for the Sheriff Division - Kaua‘i Section of the Hawai‘i Department of Public Safety, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to first‑degree theft and official misconduct, KauaiNow reported. Court records and HawaiiNewsNow reporting show she manipulated computer time-and-attendance records from Oct. 1, 2021, through June 20, 2024 to obtain more than $64,000 in unearned pay.

Under the plea agreement reported by HawaiiNewsNow, Kuwamura will serve 60 to 120 days in jail, reimburse $64,000 in wages she improperly claimed, and serve four years of probation. KauaiNow states she is slated to be sentenced on June 4, 2026 in Fifth Circuit Court on Kaua‘i; HawaiiNewsNow likewise reports sentencing is scheduled for June 4.

The charges carry statutory maximums far above the plea outcome. KauaiNow and HawaiiNewsNow note theft in the first degree is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, while official misconduct is a class C felony punishable by up to five years and a $10,000 fine. Those potential exposures contrast with the negotiated 60- to 120-day jail term and four years’ probation in Kuwamura’s plea agreement.

The Hawai‘i Department of Law Enforcement issued a statement quoted by KauaiNow describing the investigative partnership and the department’s stance. That statement reads in full: “The Hawaiʻi Department of Law Enforcement takes allegations of employee misconduct seriously. After we were made aware of the allegations of theft, we partnered with the Department of the Attorney General’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division to ensure that a fair and comprehensive investigation was conducted, so that the employee in question could be held accountable for violating the trust of the department and the community. We hope this serves as a reminder to everyone that no matter who you work for, no one is above the law.”

KauaiNow also reported that this will be the first Official Misconduct conviction since the Legislature enacted the anticorruption law in 2023, a contextual detail not repeated in other accounts. HawaiiNewsNow corroborated the period of misconduct and the amount taken, writing that Kuwamura “received more than $64,000 of pay for hours she did not work, according to court records.”

Court filings available in the public record were not included in the reports reviewed; the articles do not identify defense counsel, the presiding judge at the plea hearing, or the exact calendar date of the hearing beyond the description that the plea was entered “on Monday.” Sentencing on June 4, 2026 in Fifth Circuit Court on Kaua‘i will formalize restitution and the custodial term agreed under the plea.