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A Hawaii grand jury has indicted Democratic Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke on criminal conspiracy, bribery and falsifying campaign finance report charges. The allegations stem from a $35,000 bribe prosecutors say Luke received while serving as a state lawmaker in 2022, connected to a state COVID-19 testing contract.
Lobbyist and businessman Tobi Solidum, who represented the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii, allegedly offered Luke the money to influence her legislative actions regarding state contracts. Four others were also indicted as part of State Attorney General Anne Lopez’s investigation: Solidum, former state representative Ryan Yamane, Hawaii Transportation Department official Ford Fuchigami, and Leo Asunción, a former Hawaii Public Utilities Commission official.
According to prosecutors, Solidum met with Luke at a steakhouse in January 2022 and gave her two $5,000 checks made out to her campaign committee, Friends of Sylvia Luke. Solidum allegedly told Luke he would deliver $70,000 total, stating “By next week, we’ll have 35, so it will be halfway to our 70,” the indictment claims.
Luke acknowledged accepting the two $5,000 checks but denied receiving additional funds and rejected claims that donations influenced her legislative decisions. “I never granted special favors to a contributor,” she stated on social media, asserting she “prized integrity and honesty above all throughout her career.”
Hawaii Governor Josh Green called for Luke’s resignation Friday, telling local media the lieutenant governor should “formally resign to address this matter and so that the state of Hawaiʻi can move forward.” The investigation originated as an offshoot of a separate federal bribery probe.
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