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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, May 14, 2003

Lindsey gets delay in jail term to care for husband

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

Former Bishop Estate trustee Lokelani Lindsey, who was supposed to begin a six-month jail sentence in about three weeks, won't have to turn herself in until Aug. 4.

At the time of the fraud she was sentenced for, Lokelani Lindsey was a trustee for the trust that's now called the Kamehameha Schools.

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Federal Judge David Ezra yesterday granted Lindsey's request to delay the start of her jail sentence for 60 days so Lindsey could tend to her husband's health needs.

But Ezra warned Lindsey and her lawyer, William Harrison, not to expect him to grant any additional delays.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Les Osborne Jr. objected to the delay, saying letters from two doctors Lindsey submitted in support of her request did not list any reasons why a private healthcare company could not provide the necessary service.

Ezra sentenced Lindsey on Oct. 17 to six months in federal prison on money laundering and bankruptcy fraud charges in connection with her sister's 1995 bankruptcy case.

Lindsey was a trustee for the multibillion-dollar charitable trust that's now called the Kamehameha Schools. She and three other former Bishop Estate trustees who made as much as $1 million a year were ousted in 1999 after state and federal investigators found evidence of what they claimed was mismanagement and abuse of power. A fifth trustee resigned.

At the time she was sentenced, Ezra emphasized that Lindsey's position as former trustee had no bearing on the fraud case or her sentencing. The fraud, however, occurred while Lindsey was a trustee.

Ezra had allowed Lindsey to postpone the start of her prison term to care for her disabled husband, Stephen, who was scheduled to have surgery last November, and ordered her to report to a federal prison on June 2.

Lindsey said her husband developed a blood clotting problem after the surgery and that's why she asked for the additional delay.