Category Archives: Law

New charges being considered in probate fraud case

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It has been nearly six months since Robert Earl Chapman, the former managing partner of a large downtown Honolulu law firm, was indicted on 22 counts stemming from the alleged theft of property held by the estate of a deceased client.

Chapman has pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, although his attorney, Myles Breiner, has indicated in a court filing that a change of plea is “probable.”

According to the indictment, Chapman went to court in 2018 to obtain authority as the “personal representative” of a Honolulu man who had died two years previously.

He then allegedly used fraudulently created or altered documents to transfer property valued at $750,000 from the estate to himself or to a company in which he was the sole officer.

Court records show at least one plea offer has been made by prosecutors, and negotiations over terms of a plea agreement are ongoing and a trial date has been postponed several times.

Chapman has been free after posting a $1 million bail bond. He and his wife took out a $1 million mortgage on their Lanikai home to secure the bond.

More than two years before his indictment, Chapman gave up his license to practice law in lieu of being disbarred by the Hawaii Supreme Court following a lengthy investigation of a different case of probate fraud.

Now, with a possible plea deal still in limbo, prosecutors appear to be ready to play hardball by adding at least one additional charge.

During a court hearing two weeks ago, prosecutors said an additional charge is being considered.

“State updated the court as to a potential new criminal case,” according to minutes of the October 20 hearing. A further update “as to the additional charge” will be provided at a hearing February 6, 2026, the hearing minutes available online show.

There is no other indication of what the additional charge or new criminal case might be.

Meanwhile, Chapman has been traveling.

He requested and received court approval to travel out of state on two different trips since he was charged in June.

He was allowed to fly to Massachusetts, and then drive through New Hampshire and on to Maine between September 21 and October 11. This is considered the best time for “leaf peeping,” or traveling to enjoy view of vibrant colors of the fall folliage.

He has also received court approval to spend five weeks in New Zealand visiting his grandchildren between December 8 and January 13, 2026.

Also see:

Fraud allegations lead to resignation of prominent business attorney, December 29, 2022.

Former Honolulu attorney indicted in alleged $750K probate fraud, iLind.net, June 21, 2025.

Prior Hawai “gag orders” have been struck down as unconstitutional

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The past week, the Maui County Board of Ethics adopted a set of new rules, but quickly put one of them on hold pending further consideration after it was criticized as a “gag order.”

Civil Beat reported:

That provision bound the complainant to a confidentiality requirement forbidding that person or citizens group from disclosing the pending complaint’s existence or sharing details of it publicly. If the ethics board or staff found that confidentiality was violated, they could use that as grounds to dismiss the complaint without further investigation.

This isn’t the first time such a confidentiality clause has been at issue in Hawaii. Both the State Ethics Commission and the Campaign Spending Commission had the same kind of confidential clause written into law, rather than just as a rule. And violation of those laws carried potential criminal penalties.

Both were successfully challenged in federal court and found to be unconstitutional.
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The future of Miske’s fortune remains unsettled

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The saga of Mike Miske’s fortune continues to unfold at a snail’s pace.

Nine months after the federal government filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit, the question of who will get the property of late-business owner and convicted racketeering boss remains in legal limbo with little progress publicly reported to date.

Following Miske’s conviction after a 6-month trial last year, a jury found that 27 itemized peroperties, including real estate, cash and cashier’s checks, vintage cars, and art work should be forfeited to the government because they constitutedz or were obtained with proceeds of Miske’s racketeering activities. Miske’s properties have previously been estimated to be worth at least $11 million, and perhaps as much at $25 million. The largest single asset is the
8,206 square foot luxury home on most of an acre overlooking the ocean in Portlack.

However, the entire case, including the indictment, convictions, and forfeiture, were vacated following Miske’s death in Honolulu’s Federal Detention Center last December while awaiting sentencing under the legal doctrine of abatement ab initio. As a result, the civil forfeiture lawsuit was filed in order to reclaim the property that had been awarded to the government by the jury.

After the case was filed, the trustees of Miske’s personal trust filed their own claim on the assets, and three lenders entered the case seeking amounts to cover unpaid mortgage loans. Of the three, Bank of Hawaii appears to have the most exposure.

Then in late June, the parties disclosed an agreement to pursue a negotiated settlement that would avoid the expense of another protracted trial in which the government would again have to prove these properties were products of Miske’s criminal enterprise. Instead, they agreed to enter into settlement negotiations with Miske’s trust in order to seek a division of assets that would pay off the the outstanding mortgage debts, and then split the remaining assets and cash between the government and Miske’s trust.

All parties said they needed more time, and agreed to a five-month delay in the case to allow negotiations to move forward. If the stipulated delay ends in late November as scheduled, a scheduling conferece will be held before Magistrate Judge Kenneth Mansfield on December 1 to set deadlines for each of the remaining parts of the process, up to and including a trial in the unlikely event no agreement can be reached between the parties.

The parties have filed monthly status reports, the first in July. In each, the operating phrase for the status of discussions with the lenders, and discussions between the government and the Miske trust, has been simple: “Those discussions are ongoing.”

In the most recent update, filed in court on October 9, attorneys report they have “have begun discussions to schedule an initial settlement conference.”

But, again–“Those discussions are ongoing.”

The latest defendant from the Trump enemies’ list

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This is an excerpt from a Lawfare column by Olivia Manes and Ben Wittes, “Thoughts on the John Bolton Indictment.”

I highly recommend the full column, as well as Lawfare’s other reporting and analysis.

…there is real cause for caution here. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. For a variety of reasons, that presumption deserves a certain emphasis in this case.

Because one thing we know for sure is that President Trump hates John Bolton.

And whether or not this indictment is justified—in whole or in part—it is just as surely a product of that hatred. That hatred has no legitimate role to play in prosecutorial decisions about Bolton’s conduct. And one doesn’t have to assert that Bolton is innocent to observe that it has clearly played some significant role here. The task of the court here is thus not merely to assess Bolton’s conduct but to assess the corrupting force of Trump’s hatred and vengeance.

The history of Trump’s statements and actions with respect to Bolton provide almost, though not quite, as strong a prima facie case for motion to dismiss for a vindictive prosecution motion as we can expect from Comey or James.

Trump’s ire for Bolton dates back to policy disagreements during Trump’s first term. After Bolton resigned as national security adviser (or, according to Trump, was fired) in 2019, Bolton flirted with testifying in the impeachment proceedings against the president. Even though Bolton played hard to get with the House and Senate and never ended up testifying, media reports suggested that Trump was planning reprisals against his adversaries—including Bolton.

The final paragraph sums it up: “It is to say that the presumption of innocence should never be stronger than when one knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the prosecution and its investigators are playing dirty—and doing so for nakedly political reasons. It is possible, in other words, that Bolton is both a scoundrel and a victim.”

As noted above, I highly recommend the full column.