Hurricane Scheme Ends with 10-year Prison Sentence

An attorney who cheated Hawaii out of more than $12 million was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.

Jerrold Chun, 56, had pleaded no contest to charges filed in connection with a scheme involving insurance claims stemming from Hurricane Iniki.

Chun’s attorneys said in August that he had paid back the money he pocketed.

He was convicted of three counts of first-degree theft, one count of unlawful ownership or operation of a business and ten counts of money laundering.

“The 10-year sentence properly reflects the extraordinary seriousness of these crimes,” Attorney General Mark Bennett said.

“I hope that it will send a message to the community that if you abuse a position of trust, and in such a serious way, you will receive a just punishment,” he said.

Chun had been hired by the state to handle claims from the 1992 storm after the liquidation of two insurance companies. Hawaiian Underwriters Insurance Co. and United National Insurance Co. are now known as HUI/UNICO in Liquidation Inc.

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