Hawaii lieutenant governor indicted on bribery charges tied to COVID testing contract

Hawaii's Democratic Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke was indicted by a grand jury on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and falsifying candidate committee reports, according to Fox News reporting on documents from the state attorney general's office. The charges stem from an alleged $35,000 bribe she received in 2022 while serving as a state lawmaker.

The indictment centers on alleged payments from Tobi Solidum, a local businessman and lobbyist who represented the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii, which held state contracts to operate COVID-19 testing sites. Per the court documents, in January 2022, as Solidum's client's contracts neared expiration, Solidum met Luke at a steakhouse and allegedly gave her two $5,000 checks made out to her campaign committee, Friends of Sylvia Luke.

According to the indictment, Solidum told Luke, "By next week, we'll have 35, so it will be halfway to our 70," indicating he would provide a total of $70,000. Luke allegedly replied, "Oh wow," and added, "That's terrific." In a separate conversation with another state representative documented in the indictment, Solidum said, "All I gotta do is give her more money now," framing the payments in relation to Luke's upcoming run for lieutenant governor.

The investigation originated as an offshoot of a federal bribery probe and expanded into a state attorney general inquiry led by Anne Lopez, according to Fox News. Four others were indicted alongside Luke: lobbyist Solidum himself; former state representative Ryan Yamane; Ford Fuchigami, a Hawaii Transportation Department official; and Leo Asunción, a former Hawaii public utilities commission official.

Luke has disputed the charges in substance. In a social media post, she acknowledged accepting the two $5,000 checks but denied taking any additional payments and denied that campaign contributions influenced her legislative decisions. "I never granted special favors to a contributor," she stated, adding that she "prized integrity and honesty above all throughout her career."

Hours after the indictment became public, Hawaii Governor Josh Green called for Luke to step down. "The lieutenant governor needs to consider formally resigning to address this matter and so that the state of Hawai'i can move forward," Green said, per Fox News reporting. Luke's current status as a sitting lieutenant governor and whether she remains in office pending trial are not specified in the available records.