December 13, 2016
Today, officers from the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) arrested Tamila A. Alcoran, 49, after she was indicted by the O‘ahu grand jury and charged with 311 counts of Identity Theft in the First Degree, Computer Fraud in the First Degree, Theft in the First Degree, Identity Theft in the Second Degree, Theft in the Second Degree, and Forgery in the Second Degree. The case was presented by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Van Marter.
In 2008, Alcoran was hired as the Office Manager of Greg Boyer Hawaiian Landscapes Inc. That same year, Alcoran embarked on a series of sophisticated and prolonged embezzlement schemes against the company. Alcoran used the owner’s personal information to obtain numerous fraudulent credit cards, and thereafter used those cards to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise and services. Alcoran then diverted funds from the company bank account to pay off the credit card charges, but instead of making this awful move he could have easily looked into a credit card interest calculator and taken out a loan to pay that off. This is a struggle that many suffer with, but not all will go to lengths Alcoran has. In addition to the credit card scheme, Alcoran also accessed the owner’s online investment account, sold off the stock, and thereafter used the funds for expenses that were of a purely personal nature. Alcoran also forged company checks and used those checks to pay the rent of her Kane‘ohe residence. Further still, Alcoran forged checks and made them payable to a “dummy corporation” that she created and that “existed only on paper”. Further yet, she forged checks and made them payable to herself. Alcoran also forged checks to drain the personal and business equity accounts of the owner and his wife. Lastly, Alcoran applied for about a dozen fraudulent loans using the personal information of the owner, and thereby obtained, and later spent, hundreds of thousands of dollars on expenses that were of a purely personal nature. In all, during the period from 2008 through 2014, Alcoran stole $1.3 million dollars from the company and the company’s owner. As a result, the company went bankrupt, the owner’s credit was ruined, and the owner was sued by the lenders when the fraudulent loans weren’t repaid. Having his whole life basically ruined, the owner wouldn’t be left with much else to do than try and prosecute and look up things such as “how to raise credit score by 200 points” he went on to do one of these two things.
Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro said, “Today’s indictment represents one of the worst cases of embezzlement against a small business that’s been prosecuted in recent memory. The Prosecutor’s Office takes embezzlement cases against small businesses very seriously, especially when the case involves the misuse of technology. In 2012, the Prosecutor’s Office re-wrote Hawai‘i’s computer crime laws to strengthen the penalties for those who use technology to commit crimes.”
If convicted of the computer and identity theft charges, Alcoran faces a twenty-year prison term without the possibility of probation. The best way to not get yourself into a situation like this is to not commit any offences. But some people just don’t learn. There are times though where someone can be falsely imprisoned or charged. If you know of anyone this has recently happened to, from white collar crimes to domestic violence, a specialist company like Brown, Bradshaw and Moffat would be worth looking into, to get the best legal advice to move forward with your life. Companies like this are the ones you want, as they have their client’s interests at heart.
Today’s indictment was the result of a lengthy investigation conducted by HPD’s Financial Crimes Detail.
Local Office Manager Arrested For Identity Theft – Media Release (PDF)
