The state Campaign Spending Commission has fined former lawmaker and congressional candidate Kaniela Ing $18,000 for 24 counts of campaign spending violations.
One count was for not keeping sufficient records so that the commission could check and verify campaign spending reports.
The other 23 counts were for false amended reports, meaning Ing's campaign spending reports did not match his bank records.
The false reports span between July 2011 and 2016.
Ing was a state representative for South Maui from 2012 to 2018. He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018.
Ing was previously fined $15,000 by the commission in 2018 for falsifying records and using campaign funds for personal use.
Ing said he did not think it was appropriate for the commission to continue to pursue the most recent campaign spending violations.
“My only goal is to move on with life, raising my kids, advancing my culture and supporting my community, but I've endured serious hardship through this,” he said.
“We're talking about fines over the course of years. I've had jobs rescinded for me. There's like a regular stream of very negative media because it is through every continuance and there's real impact here.”
The commission previously voted to send the issue to a criminal proceeding. However, Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm declined to press charges.
So the commission decided to continue to proceed with the charges for a civil fine.
One commissioner, Victor Bonfiglio, thought the $18,000 charge was too high and put forth a motion to lower it to just $100. It did not pass.
Ing said he plans to request a contested case hearing about their determination, which is a more formal process that could include witnesses and take months to resolve.
