Accountant is now accused of stealing $7M from Hawaii nonprofit

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A grand jury has filed a superseding indictment against a former accountant for a Hawaii nonprofit, adding an additional $1 million in fraud charges.

The new charges bring the total that Lola Jean Amorin is alleged to have stolen from the Arc in Hawaii to nearly $7 million.

It's the largest white collar crime case the city prosecutor's office has handled, officials said.

Amorin is charged with five counts of theft, computer fraud, money laundering.

And prosecutors allege she started embezzling from the agency as far back as January 1998. The theft allegedly continued until January.

The superseding indictment filed Thursday also names Amorin's husband, 71-year-old Albert Amorin.

Amorin is charged with six counts of failure to file tax returns and seven counts of tax evasion.

Lola Jean Amorin is accused of embezzling from the nonprofit that serves those with disabilities fore a decade or more.

Amorin worked for Arc in Hawaii for more than 30 years as a senior accountant, and her duties included processing accounts payable, Kaneshiro said.

Officials have said the theft was found during a routine audit and reported to police.

To track down the scope of the embezzlement, police and prosecutors executed more than 40 search warrants to get bank, credit card and other records.

Investigators learned that large chunks of the embezzled funds were used to pay mortgages on at least four properties on Oahu, the Big Island, and Las Vegas, Kaneshiro said.

Those familiar with embezzlement cases say the chances the Arc in Hawaii will get the stolen funds back are slim.