Katherine Kealoha refuses to see her attorney as sentencing date nears

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Katherine Kealoha is refusing to meet with her attorney as they prepare for her sentencing, the attorney told a federal judge.

Gary Singh told Chief Judge J. Michael Seabright that Kealoha refused to meet with him on Nov. 3 and again on Nov. 6 at the Federal Detention Center, where she is being held.

On both occasions, a guard told him she was not coming down for their legal visit.

When questioned about that, Kealoha said there was a problem in her unit at the jail and that she wrote Singh a letter to explain last week.

Singh had not received the letter but said he could wait a few more days.

It was clear Kealoha did not want to discuss the problem openly during the proceeding.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 30. It’s been more than a year and a half since a jury found her guilty of conspiracy and obstruction. She also pleaded guilty to financial crimes.

The case has been riddled with delays, mostly the result of Kealoha’s bizarre and questionable claims. COVID-19 and the election caused the sentencing date to be pushed back even further.

Her husband, former Police Chief Louis Kealoha, is also scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 30.

The once powerful law enforcement couple framed a relative for a crime he did not commit in 2013. Katherine Kealoha stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the relative’s elderly mother. When the man went public about the theft, the Kealohas and two officers staged a crime and blamed him for it.

Katherine Kealoha told the judge Tuesday that she could not leave the FDC unit for a legal visit with Singh, but will accept a legal phone call from him.

Seabright told Singh to contact the court if there are problems but made it clear, the sentencing hearing will not be rescheduled.

The two former HPD officers also convicted in the scandal, Derek Hahn and Bobby Nguyen, will be sentenced Dec. 1.