A former federal agriculture official in Honolulu has admitted he took a $5,000 “thank you” check tied to a pandemic-era farm payment, pleading guilty in federal court to accepting an illegal gratuity.
Jason Shitanishi, 60, a former county executive director with the Farm Service Agency in Honolulu, acknowledged on Friday that he signed off on a Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) application that led to a $65,745 federal payment and later pocketed a $5,000 check from the applicant. He deposited the money into his personal bank account. Sentencing is set for July in Honolulu federal court.
According to prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the CFAP application at the center of the case was submitted in April 2021 and falsely claimed $685,500 in 2019 commodity sales while also listing the wrong county for the farm. At the time, Shitanishi was serving as the County Executive Director for the City and County of Honolulu’s Farm Service Agency office in 2020 and 2021. Prosecutors say he obtained approvals to handle the file in Honolulu and then approved the application, which triggered the $65,745 CFAP payment to the applicant.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
In a post on X from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, prosecutors said the applicant handed Shitanishi a $5,000 check on April 18, 2021, after the federal payment went out. Shitanishi then deposited the check into his personal account…