KAILUA-KONA — In January 2017, officials at University of Nations in Kailua-Kona reported to the FBI that the school’s chief financial officer, Pablo Rivera, had embezzled millions from the institution.
After nearly a year of court proceedings, the 42-year-old was sentenced to almost 10 years in federal prison for committing wire fraud.
“We want to extend our gratitude for all those who have helped us through this difficult process,” UOFN spokeswoman Joanna Mutch said Tuesday.
Rivera pleaded guilty to wire fraud in May 2017 in federal court in Honolulu. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney District of Hawaii Office, Rivera, formerly a resident of Hawaii and Colorado, was sentenced to 115 months and three years supervised release for the embezzlement at the Kona campus, after stealing approximately $3,096,241.
According to court documents, from July 2014 to January 2017, Rivera defrauded UOFN through a scheme that involved the former CFO submitting false invoices for construction-related projects on the Christian-based, missionary organization’s campus.
According to the district office, Rivera created a scheme under which he persuaded a contractor to allow him to have signatory authority over its account. Rivera then created and submitted false invoices to UOFN, approved them, and took money from the contractor’s account once funds were transferred by UOFN.
For the past year, Mutch said UOFN’s building development projects were slowed down, however the training programs, operational teams and facilities were not affected and continued to run smoothly.
At Monday’s sentencing, Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway found Rivera abused a position of trust and took advantage of others to steal millions from UOFN.
“Judge Mollway noted that Rivera did not need to defraud UOFN to make ends meet, and had used the fraud proceeds to buy a gold mine in Africa, stocks and diamonds, and to pay for spa treatments,” according to the press release.
Mollway also found Rivera guilty of obstruction of justice.
In November 2017, prosecutors filed a motion under seal that inquired whether the defendant knowingly tried to mislead the court by submitting an altered email, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Nammar.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, when the government suggested he was hiding diamonds, Rivera submitted a fraudulent and altered email to the court, which constituted an attempt to obstruct justice.
Rivera was found guilty of obstruction of justice in December 2017. While out on bail during previous court proceedings, the 42-year-old was taken into custody at that time.
“We’re happy with the result,” Nammar said Tuesday of the sentencing. “There was a lot of hard work put in by everybody.”
On Tuesday, Mutch thanked U.S. District Attorney for the District of Hawaii, the U.S. District Court in Honolulu, the FBI and other local and federal authorities who worked on the case.
“We also thank the local Kona community who have stood with us in the recovery process,” Mutch said in a press release.
She added financial experts have helped the university in adding an extra level of scrutiny to how their finances are looked at, setting up more checks and balances.
“The University of the Nations has been very fortunate to work with a number of financial and accounting experts to strengthen our financial processes and accountability,” she said.
Along with his sentencing, Rivera was also ordered to pay UOFN $3,128,194 in restitution, which included the university’s losses, and costs of investigation. Rivera will also be ordered to forfeit various assets and accounts traceable to his fraud scheme.
Rivera’s defense counsel Megan Kau said the sentencing was exactly what they expected given the circumstances and history of the case.
“I would say 115 (months) is a little too harsh, but I understand part of that was the obstruction of justice, which we objected to,” Kau said.
Rivera is currently being held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu and will remain there pending designation of a facility on the mainland.
“The University of the Nations, Kona asks that our community continue to pray for all those affected, the individual, his family, and for our campus, as we heal from the impact of this incident,” Mutch stated. “The University of the Nations, Kona is filled with hope for what the future holds and looks forward to continuing to serve our local community as well as communities abroad.”