A Maui woman at the center of an alleged mortgage scam targeting Hawaiian homeowners is now demanding over $50 million in damages from the federal government.
Mahealani Ventura-Oliver, whose home was one of several raided on April 7, 2009 by the FBI as part of its investigation of a mortgage fraud scheme, has filed documents in federal court claiming damages for the “theft” of property seized during the raids.
The claim was filed after Federal Magistrate Judge Leslie Kobayashi recommended denial of Ventura-Oliver’s claim that the FBI seizure of money and documents amounted to an unconstitutional theft of private property. She had demanded affidavits supporting the search warrants be unsealed, the items be returned, and an apology given by the government.
Kobayashi, in the finding and recommendation dated June 19, noted the government’s explanation that it is:
“conducting a criminal investigation into the activities of various individuals involved in the marketing of a program which allegedly provides mortgage loan assistance to individuals experiencing financial difficulties.”
Kobayashi ruled the search warrants should remain sealed until the criminal investigation is concluded or until indictments are returned in the case. Further, Kobayashi pointed to legal procedures to get property returned after criminal charges are filed or the investigation ended, and said that return at this time is not warranted.
Despite the findings, Ventura-Oliver now claims $50,480,781.40 in damages stemming from the FBI raid, including “punative, general and specific damages and injury” of $1,350,000, and $15,020,000 for “the act of theft of my irreplaceable Sovereign Direct Deed from King Kauikeaouli, signed and sealed on Dec. 24, 1839”.
She demands triple damages in both cases, bringing those two claims to more than $4 million and $45 million respectively.
The document is notarized by Pilialoha Teves, who had nearly $80,000 seized from two bank accounts during the FBI raids.
The damage claim is certainly frivolous, and will not contribute to her legal defense in the event criminal charges are eventually filed in the case. But the claim is similar to others previously made in unrelated cases involving Eric Aaron Lighter, an alleged con man who has surfaced in this case in several documents filed on behalf of Ventura-Oliver.
Lighter has often made outrageous claims in court filings, and later used them as supposed “proof” in other contexts.
In one example, Lighter submitted documents “confessing” to being part of the conspiracy responsible for the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. When the “confession” was ignored as baseless and frivolous, Lighter then peddled the story among groups of true believers as evidence of “jury tampering” and “corruption” in the grand jury investigating the terrorist bombing.
Lighter has been accused of fraud in several prior civil lawsuits, and currently is awaiting trial on multiple charges of tax fraud and related offenses stemming from the defrauding of a pair of California doctors.
In 2003, Lighter sued the Star-Bulletin and myself over an earlier story describing a fraud case in which he was involved. The lawsuit was never served and was later dismissed by the court.
Last year, the Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that Lighter had defrauded a Big Island man as part of an larger and complicated fraud scheme.
