Bank of Hawaii has filed a claim to the 8,206-square foot luxury home on nearly an acre of land overlooking the ocean in Portlock owned by the estate of the late Honolulu business owner and crime boss, Michael J. Miske, Jr.

The home is the most valuable asset among a list of 27 items, valued at an estimated $25 million, that the government is attempting to seize in a civil forfeiture lawsuit filed in January and now pending in Honolulu’s Federal District Court. These properties, which include real estate, cash, cashier’s checks, vintage cars, and art, were owned by Miske at the time of his death, either personally, as part of his living trust, or in the name of one of the companies that he owned.

Miske purchased the 37,891 sq.ft. property Lumahai Street in 2010 for $2.3 million, and poured millions into the construction of an oceanfront mansion. It is currently appraised for tax purposes at $7.3 million, although testimony in Miske’s criminal trial indicated he claimed to have spent upwards of $11 million on the home’s construction. Since Miske’s indictment and arrest in 2020, the home has reportedly been available for rent at around $100,000 per month.

Miske was convicted by a federal jury last year on 13 counts including racketeering, murder for hire, kidnapping, assault in aid of racketeering, obstruction of justice, and other offenses. The jury also found that his assets should be forfeited to the government because they were tied to his criminal activities.

However, Miske died in Honolulu’s Federal Detention Center on December 1, 2024, weeks prior to his scheduled sentencing. As a result, his indictment and conviction have been vacated, along with the jury verdict on forfeiture, requiring government attorneys to proceed in a civil forfeiture proceeding.

Attorneys for BOH say the bank is “the mortgagee of record” of the Portlock home based a $1,999,999 mortgage loan secured by the property that was recorded in the Bureau of Conveyances in 2018. The bank’s court filing does not indicate the outstanding balance, including interest, now owed to the bank.

An official notice of the government’s lawsuit seeking the forfeiture was posted February 24 on an official government web site (www.forfeiture.gov), and remained public for 30 days.

According to the court filing, “any person claiming a legal interest” in any of Miske’s properties must file a claim within 60 days of February 24, and then file an answer to the complaint within another 21 days.

The government may also consider granting petitions for remission or mitigation, which pardon all or part of the property from the forfeiture. A petition must include a description of your interest in the property supported by documentation; include any facts you believe justify the return of the property; and be signed under oath, subject to the penalty of perjury, or meet the requirements of an unsworn statement under penalty of perjury.

Bank of Hawaii also said it is “the mortgagee of record” for a 3-bedroom home on Paokano Loop in Kailua’s Enchanted Lake subdivision. Miske purchased the residence in 2011 for $570,000. It has nearly doubled in value since Miske was indicted and arrested in 2020, and is now appraised for tax purposes at over $1.3 million. The $212,000 BOH mortage secured a revolving line of credit Miske obtained in early 2017. A copy of the mortage is part of the bank’s court filing, but the outstanding balance of the loan has not been reported.

U.S. Bank Trust National Association has also filed a claim based on a first mortgage lien on the Paokano Loop home securing a $608,000 loan in June 2013. The loan was originally made by Pinnacle Capital Mortgage Corporation in Roseville, California, but has been transferred through a series of subsequent assignees. U.S. Bank, as trustee for the current mortage owner, has demanded “payment in full of all sums due and owing…through the sale and/or seizure of the Kailua Property.”

Cith records show real property taxes are paid and up to date for both the Portlock and Kailua properties.

Meanwhile, San Francisco attorney Edward M. Burch has entered the governent’s forfeiture case representing both The Michael J. Miske, Jr. Revocable Living Trust, as well as Miske’s granddaughter, a minor who is identified in the court filing only by her initials, “N.M.”

She is the child of Caleb Miske and Delia Fabro Miske. Caleb, Miske’s son and only child, died in 2016 of complications of injuries suffered in a high-speed crash in Kaneohe several months earlier. She was born while Caleb was hospitalized.

Burch and his law partner, David Michael, have a law practice specializing in civil asset forfeiture defense.

Criminal defense specializing in civil asset forfeiture (cases involving the seizure of property by law enforcement who believe the property is related to crime – usually illegal drug sales – including cash, vehicles, and real property). Both California and Federal statutes allow law enforcement to seize cash and other valuables on the grounds that the property is connected to crimes such as drug trafficking. These drug asset forfeiture laws are based on the “legal fiction” that the property is guilty of wronging society, and permit the government to sue the property as defendant in civil court. As owner or possessor of the property, one is considered a third party to these civil forfeiture actions, who is voluntarily in court. These “claimants” are afforded less rights and protections than a traditional criminal defendant. My office effectively represents claimants and aggressively opposes these forfeiture actions to get your property back.