In the past eight months, two people have been ordered to pay a total of $51,000 after being convicted of making bogus distress calls that sent Coast Guard aircraft and boats scrambling to search for missing people who did not exist.

In the latest case, Justin J. Aquino, 19, of O'ahu, was sentenced Monday to five years supervised probation and 100 hours of community service following his guilty plea to a felony charge of making a false Mayday call to the Coast Guard on March 8.

He also was ordered to reimburse the Coast Guard $29,000 for costs incurred in responding to the false distress call. Aquino could not be reached for comment yesterday.

In a previous case, Christine Stark was sentenced on Sept. 12, 2006, to three years probation and ordered to pay $22,000 after she triggered a Coast Guard search in waters off Maui on Aug. 28, 2003.

Stark could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Following news of Aquino's sentencing, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said the "large monetary fine makes it clear that these false reports are not funny. Whether a false distress call to the Coast Guard, or a false report about something on a plane, or even the false yelling of fire in a theater — these types of reports cause unnecessary fear and distress among innocent families and the public."

FALSE CALLS RARE

Fake Mayday calls to the Coast Guard are not common, officials said, but they cost thousands of dollars and can divert resources from actual emergencies.

"In my 20 years of experience, I can recall 20 false distress calls that have been prosecuted. These cases are rare but they do happen," said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Marsha Delaney. "Fake distress calls are a concern because it forces us to focus our resources and personnel in an area where no emergency exists when a real emergency could be happening elsewhere."

U.S. attorneys in seven districts on the Mainland are currently pursuing prosecutions against people who lied to Coast Guard search and rescue coordinators about the existence of an emergency.

The Coast Guard presses federal charges when a pointless search is launched by someone with malicious intent, officials said. The Coast Guard does not seek criminal charges against people who make poor choices that put them in dangerous situations leading to a rescue.

In Aquino's case, officials say he was sailing when he used a marine-band radio to make a Mayday call reporting that he saw two people go down with the sailing vessel "Angry Beaver 1" about 12 miles south of Hono-lulu Harbor.

Aquino described the sinking boat's physical characteristics, specifying that the bow was halfway under water, that the crew did not have a radio or mobile phone on board, and that the sailing vessel would likely sink within five minutes, according to the Coast Guard.

He gave a fake name and number to the Coast Guard's search and rescue coordinator.

Based on Aquino's claims, the Coast Guard's Sector Honolulu rescue coordinator dispatched small boats and aircraft to the reported location.

The rescuers found no signs of the two people, a sinking boat or any signs of distress. Further investigation by the Coast Guard Investigative Service confirmed that neither Aquino nor the Angry Beaver 1 had left Ke'ehi Boat Harbor that day.

The Coast Guard said Aquino later told investigators he made a false report because he was bored.

NO ONE MISSING

On Aug. 28, 2003, Stark, a Santa Cruz, Calif., resident, told the Coast Guard she was one of seven people in a canoe that was capsized by waves in waters off Maui. Stark was found floating by the captain of a catamaran.

Stark told the captain that six of her friends were still missing and the captain immediately alerted the Coast Guard. A rescue helicopter from Barbers Point was dispatched and a rescue vessel deployed from Maui.

Under pressure from investigators who began to pick up on discrepancies in Stark's description of events, Stark admitted she made the story up, the Guard said.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.