Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, a Democrat, was indicted Friday by an Oahu grand jury on bribery charges related to an alleged scheme involving campaign contributions for help securing state funding for COVID-19 testing contracts while she served as a state lawmaker in 2022.
The Hawaii Attorney General’s office in Honolulu announced the charges as part of a months-long political corruption probe.
A grand jury returned a 12-count indictment charging Luke with criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery by a public servant and falsifying candidate committee reports, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. Bail was set at $80,000. Luke turned herself in on Friday.
Also charged were former state Rep. Ryan Yamane, a Democrat and former Department of Human Services director, with criminal conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery, and bail of $150,000; businessman and lobbyist Tobi Solidum with conspiracy to commit bribery and three counts of bribery upon a public servant, with a no-bail warrant issued after he fled to the Philippines.
Hawaii Democratic Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke was indicted Friday on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and falsifying campaign committee reports after prosecutors alleged she accepted at least $35,000 in campaign contributions in exchange for helping advance… pic.twitter.com/Fwnj1PrLS2
— TrueLibertyX (@True_Libertyx) July 27, 2026
Ford Fuchigami, airports administrator at the state Department of Transportation, is facing charges for criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, use of false statements or entries and obstruction of justice
The alleged scheme centered on Solidum’s efforts to secure additional state funding for COVID-19 community testing centers operated by the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaiʻi, a client of his consulting business, the Aloha State Daily reported. Solidum had helped arrange tens of millions of dollars in testing contracts during the pandemic.
In early 2022, with funding at risk of being cut by the state Department of Health, Solidum sought emergency appropriations. According to the indictment, Solidum told former state Rep. Ty Cullen, then an FBI informant, that Luke was running for lieutenant governor and added, “All I gotta do is give her more money.”
On Jan. 20, 2022, Solidum, Cullen, Luke and Solidum’s stepdaughter Kristen Pae met for dinner at Morton’s The Steakhouse in Ala Moana Shopping Center. Pae placed an envelope on the table containing two $5,000 checks, one from Solidum and one from Pae, made out to Luke’s campaign committee.
Luke took the envelope. Solidum then said, “By next week we’ll have 35, so it will be halfway to our 70.” He asked about drawing on federal funds to continue testing, and Luke agreed to follow up. The checks were deposited into the Friends of Sylvia Luke account the same day she arranged a meeting on emergency appropriations. In February 2022, the House Finance Committee, which she chaired, passed House Bill 2392 approving more than $170 million in state funds for COVID mitigation measures.
Prosecutors say Luke agreed to accept the promised $70,000 with the intent to use her elected position to fund the National Kidney Foundation’s testing efforts. The indictment covers payments from February 2020 to April 2022. It also details how Solidum made multiple payments to Yamane to influence health department and legislative support for the contracts. He allegedly wrote a $7,000 check to Fuchigami in January 2022 while he worked for the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Yamane later promoted the testing program in his position as House health chair. The indictment does not allege Luke took cash, unlike Yamane and Fuchigami. Solidum’s consulting firm earned more than $7 million from the foundation’s testing work, which charged up to $166 per test compared with a national median of $62.
Gov. Josh Green said, “The Attorney General announced significant developments in her department’s corruption investigation and has provided an update on their findings. The Lieutenant Governor needs to consider formally resigning to address this matter and so that the state of Hawaiʻi can move forward.”
Luke has been on unpaid leave since April after receiving a target letter and dropped her reelection bid. Yamane resigned as Human Services director in May.
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