Banker may face more prison time
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
A federal judge found Sukamto Sia in contempt of court yesterday and ruled that the former Honolulu financier must spend more time behind bars unless he gathers $2 million from the sale of a corporate jet and provides records to a federal bankruptcy trustee within 30 days.
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U.S. District Judge David Ezra said Sia must produce the money and records by March 10 to help the trustee understand what Sia did with the hundreds of millions of dollars that passed through his hands. If he doesn't, Sia will no longer receive credit for each day beyond that date that he serves behind bars in a federal penitentiary in Texas, the judge said.
Sukamto Sia pleaded guilty in late 2001 to bankruptcy and wire-fraud charges.
Sia remained at the federal prison and did not attend yesterday's hearing.
He is serving a three-year sentence for bankruptcy fraud. The term is set to expire in September.
Sia filed for bankruptcy protection Nov. 6, 1998, after he was arrested in Las Vegas on bad check charges. He resigned as chairman of the Bank of Honolulu and the Las Vegas charges were later dismissed.
In his bankruptcy filing, Sia listed nearly $300 million in debts and $9 million in assets, mostly in real estate. He was arrested in Honolulu Aug. 30, 2001, on charges of bankruptcy fraud.
The Indonesian businessman pleaded guilty in late 2001 to bankruptcy and wire-fraud charges, admitting he participated in a scheme to defraud the failed Bank of Honolulu by obtaining illegal loans that went to Sia or companies he controlled. The Bank of Honolulu was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in 2000.
Last March, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Lloyd King found Sia in contempt of court for repeatedly failing to produce financial records to his creditors.
At the time, King threatened to notify Ezra of the contempt ruling, then said he may have Sia jailed after he finishes serving the sentence in the criminal case.
The matter was turned over to Ezra, and yesterday Ezra found Sia in contempt of court, saying Sia has known since November that he has to comply with the terms of Judge King's order but has failed to take any steps to do so.
"The only way for him to comply is to get the train rolling down the track," Ezra said.
In December 2002, the trustee for Sia's bankrupt estate sued the jailed financier alleging that he conspired with others to hide assets from creditors.
The nine-count suit, which was filed in bankruptcy court by trustee Guido Giacometti, alleged that Sia paid others more than $100,000 for helping him hide millions of dollars in assets using overseas shell companies.
Stephen Jones, an attorney for the bankruptcy trustee, made some of those same assertions yesterday, telling Ezra that Sia made deposits in foreign bank accounts under other people's names but has refused to provide any information about those accounts.
Noah Fiddler, one of Sia's attorneys, said Sia "wants to comply" with the Bankruptcy Court's order to turn over documents and cash.
Sia would be better able to comply with the Bankruptcy Court's order if he were not "sitting in a jail cell," Fiddler said.
"It's unrealistic to expect Mr. Sia to come up with $2 million while sitting in a jail cell," Fiddler said.
William McCorriston, who represented Sia in the bankruptcy fraud case, asked Ezra to continue yesterday's hearing for at least 60 days so he can meet with Sia in Texas.
Coming up with the $2 million and turning over the other information "can't be done in days or even weeks," McCorriston said.
"It involves people willing to sign personal guarantees so the ($2 million) turnover order can be enforced," McCorriston said. "I can't put that together in a matter of days and I don't think Mr. Fiddler can, either."
But Ezra said that Sia has known since November about what he must do to comply with Judge King's order.
"Mr. Sia has done virtually nothing of any substance," Ezra said. He said Sia has the "ability to conduct business no matter where he is located."
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
