Hawaiian Sovereignty movement, mortgage relief, and fraud all wrapped up in one?

In previous posts, I've included in the title words/terms to describe independent and separate events or happenings. Today however, all three terms (Hawaiian Sovereignty movement, mortgage relief, and fraud) in the title are, strangely, part of one story.

The Honolulu Advertiser reported that Native Hawaiian families facing foreclosure on their homes were targeted by scammers and lured by the promise of receiving a $1 million to pay mortgage payments. The scammers charged people between $2,500 and $10,000 to attend seminars on how to avoid foreclosure.

According to the article scammers claim "to be affiliated with Native Hawaiian sovereignty movements" and tell seminar attendees that "a $1 million "Royal Hawaiian Treasury Bond" will be sent to the homeowners' bank with a letter explaining that it will cover the outstanding balance of the mortgage."

Nothing in the article suggests that any sovereignty activists are involved in the scam. The article does however suggest that perhaps scammers have used the sovereignty movement in their elaborate scheme to commit fraud on Native Hawaiian families facing foreclosure. Fraud victims are believed to have been bilked about $300,000 so far.

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Second year law student, Davis Price and two Richardson alumni, Jocelyn M. Doane and Derek Kauanoe will be joining Brickwood Galuteria and Kimo Kahoano today on Nā ‘Ōiwi ‘Ōlino radio show from 8am until 9am. Live-streaming audio of the radio show is available by clicking here. Unfortunately, that link may not work on all browsers.