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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, February 11, 2009

'Con man' in more hot water

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Henry Calucag

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A 59-year-old Honolulu man who is a suspect in the murder of one man and linked to the disappearance of two others has been indicted on federal charges that he defrauded one of those men out of thousands of dollars and laundered the money for his own benefit.

Henry Calucag, also known as Hank Jacinto, was indicted by a federal grand jury on eight counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, wire fraud and mail fraud. Calucag's girlfriend, Debra Anagaran, 51, also was named in the indictment.

The indictment was handed down Jan. 7, but kept under seal until yesterday following the arrest of Anagaran in Guam on Monday. She is expected to be returned to Hawai'i for a bail hearing.

Calucag and Anagaran are accused of fraudulently obtaining the title to the St. Louis Heights home of Arthur Young in 1990. The couple persuaded Young to use the equity in his home to fund a $70,000 investment in Calucag's Rotorcraft Industries Ltd. helicopter business, according to the indictment.

Calucag and Anagaran also had Young sign two promissory notes totaling $280,000, of which Anagaran used $70,000 to obtain a mortgage, according to the indictment.

In October 1990, Calucag told Young that Rotorcraft Industries sold two helicopters in the Philippines and that Young would receive an $80,000 commission from the sales, the indictment said. To receive the money, however, Calucag told Young that he had to go to the Philippines.

On Oct. 12, 1990, Young traveled to the Philippines with Calucag, but has not been seen or heard from since. Soon after Young left, Calucag and Anagaran took possession of Young's Peter Street home and kicked his family out, the indictment said.

In September 2001, Anagaran stopped paying the mortgage on the home and it went into default. In January 2004, she received $350,316 in profits from a foreclosure sale of the property, the indictment said.

Calucag is accused of depositing the proceeds in bank accounts in Hawai'i, then the Philippines, in the name of Anagaran, the indictment said.

If convicted of the charges, the two would face up to 20 years in prison on each count and fines of $250,000 to $500,000.

For Calucag, it is the second time that he has been charged in connection with the mysterious disappearance or death of a former friend.

In June 2007, Calucag was found guilty of identity theft and stealing property worth more than $250,000 from Kaua'i resident John Elwin. Calucag was accused of the theft of $200,000, a parcel of land, credit cards and a half-dozen polo horses from Elwin.

In May 2006, Elwin flew with Calucag to the Philippines to examine an apartment he bought from Calucag. Soon after, Elwin disappeared and he was reported missing by his family.

Later that month, Elwin's body was found with a single gunshot wound to the head along a mountain highway in a town outside of Manila. Prosecutors have not charged Calucag with the murder of Elwin, but that case remains under investigation.

Calucag, whom prosecutors deemed a "professional con man," is serving a 30-year sentence in an Arizona prison in connection with the Elwin theft case.

Calucag also is being investigated in the disappearance of Douglas Ho of Honolulu in the Philippines in 2005. Police said Ho, 58, traveled to the Philippines with Calucag, also to scrutinize business investments.

Ho never returned and his family filed a missing-persons report in January 2005. That case remains under investigation.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.