WAILUKU - While acknowledging that Glenn Mabson may have raised public awareness of epilepsy, 2nd Circuit Judge Richard Bissen on Friday said the executive director of the Epileptic Foundation of Maui is still a criminal, The Maui News reported today.

"You may be a teacher, Mr. Mabson. But you are also a thief," Bissen said as he sentenced the 68-year-old Kihei man to six months in jail and five years' probation on Friday.

Mabson, who suffers from epilepsy and touts his dedication to educating the public about the illness, also was ordered to pay $1,527.50 in restitution to the state Department of Human Services for his convictions for welfare fraud and second-degree theft.

Bissen said the court "balanced all of the factors in the case" to come up with the terms of the sentence on two felony charges. Had it not been for Mabson's age, his medical condition as well his elderly mother's medical condition, the sentence would be much longer, Bissen said.

In June, a 2nd Circuit Court jury found Mabson guilty of welfare fraud and second-degree theft for failing to report a $32,539 settlement he received while he also was collecting public assistance benefits. Had Mabson reported receiving the settlement for a personal injury, he would have been ineligible for $4,600 in food stamps and medical assistance benefits he received from May 2005 to April 2006.

During the trial, Mabson said he was going to use the settlement money for an educational video for the Epileptic Foundation and had asked a lawyer to deposit the money into a foundation bank account. But instead the prosecution said much of the settlement money went to Mabson and his mother, Ozella Mabson, who co-founded the foundation with her son in 1996.

Bissen said Mabson, who has been receiving welfare benefits since the 1980s, knew the rules for receiving the benefits and that he should not use his foundation or his ailments as an excuse for what had happened.

"Epilepsy has nothing to do with the crime you have committed here," Bissen said.

During the sentencing hearing, Mabson said what happened was a mistake and cashier's checks from one of his two foundation accounts were not supposed to be made out to him.

"I did not intentionally, with pre-meditation or criminal intent, have those names on those cashier checks," he said.

Mabson said he's suffered from epilepsy since he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam and created his foundation to educate Maui residents, police officers, corrections officers, teachers and students about epilepsy.

"No one else in our county provides this service," he said.

Deputy Prosecutor Mark Simonds disputed Mabson's intentions, arguing that Mabson used his nonprofit organization to deceive the state.

"This is an individual that does some good, but he does it to hide a lot of bad," Simonds said.

Simonds said there have been welfare fraud cases involving larger amounts of money, but Mabson's case warrants equal attention.

"Welfare fraud is a serious matter. It is the taking of public money to help needy people," he said.

Simonds pointed out Mabson's checkered past, reading a list of Mabson's criminal convictions dating back to 1981 in California and continuing to 1996 in Maui. The charges included theft, assault and forgery.

"The deception goes beyond the mere allegations in this case," Simonds said.

He said some of the people listed on the board of directors for the Mabson foundation have not been directors or are no longer on the board. He added that Mabson has 13 aliases.

Simonds asked for five years in prison for Mabson and also asked that Mabson divest himself from any board positions for any nonprofit organizations.

Deputy Public Defender Adriel Menor said Mabson has apologized publicly for his actions and said his client's actions were not sophisticated but rather misguided or naive.

Menor asked for no jail time, citing Mabson's age and arguing that he is awaiting a medical procedure and is a caretaker for his ailing mother.

Menor indicated that Mabson intends to appeal the conviction.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.