Ricky Mesa was sentenced to five years probation and 80 days in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of ID theft. Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura said Mesa could serve his time on weekends.

Deputy Prosecutor Jason Skier said the sentence means Mesa will be able to work during the week so he can make restitution payments of money he obtained illegally.

"I realize this guy got a sweet deal," Skier said. "Hopefully he will become a productive member of society.

Mesa's former co-workers at Kea'au High School say the punishment isn't enough. School officials say Mesa quit his job at the school.

"Just a slap on the wrist ain't going to really scare him," said Robert Kobayashi, an educational assistant at the school whose identity was used by Mesa to apply for a $5,000 loan. "We're going to have to live with this for the rest of our life."

Kobayashi and Federico Ramos, a substitute custodian, say their credit ratings have been ruined.

"I feel he should serve at least minimum five years, said Ramos. "I'm not happy."

Ramos said he learned of the ID theft in September when CitiFinancial bank notified him he owed a payment on a $4,000 loan he said he never applied for.

He called police after he tried to straighten things out with the bank and officials showed him a picture ID of the applicant that he recognized as Mesa.

Ramos said he warned Kea'au High officials because he suspected Mesa stole his Social Security number from a school computer, then used the computer to make the fake ID.

But Principal Peg O'Brien said it was possible that Mesa got the numbers from pay stubs, which were formerly placed in employees' mail drawers. The school now requires workers to pick up the checks from a secretary, she said.

A month and a half after Ramos filed his report, an employee at another branch of CitiFinancial recognized Mesa after he applied for the $5,000 loan using the name Robert Kobayashi, according to police detective Lucille Melemai.

Mesa was arrested that afternoon when he returned to pick up the money.

"He was caught red-handed," Melemai said.

Ramos said that even after he reported the identity theft to police, the bank kept calling seeking payment, and he had to freeze all his assets, cancel his credit cards, change his bank card personal ID number, notify the banks and hire an attorney.

"What he did to me was absolutely wrong," Ramos said.

Kobayashi said that he had considered Mesa a friend.