Prosecutors: Employee of Puna charter school overrun by lava embezzled $628,000

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - There’s more bad news for a Puna charter school devastated by the 2018 Kilauea eruption.

Federal prosecutors allege that the former financial officer for Kua O Ka La public charter school embezzled $628,000 from the campus between December 2012 and January 2019.

A complaint filed in U.S. District Court said Kelaukila Estabilio even took money from the school after its campus near Ahalanui Park was covered by lava in July 2018.

Authorities said Estabilio used the money to pay for her family’s personal expenses and to pay off her Capital One credit cards.

The school is now operating at a different location.