Hawai’i Island police arrested and charged 32-year-old William Kaipo Jr., of Hilo, with an array of offenses including forgery and theft.
The charges stem from an incident which was reported on May 13, 2024, at about 3:47 p.m., where an employee of a local business located on the 700 block of Kamehameha Avenue in Hilo, reported to police that a male party attempted to purchase merchandise at their establishment with a counterfeit $100 bill.
Responding officers contacted the reporting party who was able to identify Kaipo Jr. as the party who presented the counterfeit $100 bill, who was still within the vehicle he arrived at the business establishment with. Upon contact with Kaipo Jr., he was arrested for forgery, and was also arrested for an outstanding warrant of arrest for forgery in relation to purchasing merchandise at another business establishment with a counterfeit $100 bill.
Kaipo Jr. was transported to the East Hawaii Detention Center for booking, processing, and continued investigation by the Area I Criminal Investigation Section. The vehicle Kaipo Jr. was observed operating was recovered and towed to the Hawai’i Police Department pending the execution of a search warrant.
On May 14, 2024, detectives executed a search warrant on Kaipo Jr.’s vehicle which resulted in the recovery of:
- Numerous counterfeit $100 bills
- Numerous legitimate $1 bills
- Numerous “washed” bills in various denominations
- Instructions to produce counterfeit currency and instructions on how to “wash” currency
- A color printer
- An ultraviolet counterfeit detection device and counterfeit detection pens
After conferring with the Hawai’i County Prosecutor’s Office on May 14, 2024, detectives charged Kaipo Jr. with the following offenses:
- First-degree theft (four counts)
- Fourth-Degree theft
Total bail for Kaipo Jr. was set at $35,000.00
Kaipo Jr. made his initial court appearance on May 15, 2024, in South Hilo District Court.
This investigation revealed that Kaipo Jr. was a significant figure in the distribution and utilization of counterfeit currency being passed into our community’s circulation. Members of the public are urged to remain vigilant and should be aware that there may still be counterfeit bills circulating in the community.
Members of the public can also protect themselves against falling victim to counterfeit bills by learning about the different security features of denominations of U.S. currency at, The Seven Denominations | U.S. Currency Education Program (uscurrency.gov). If you believe you may be a victim of receiving counterfeit bills, please contact the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.
The initial investigation was conducted by South Hilo Patrol Officers and was continued by Detectives Jenny Lee and Kimo Keli’ipa’akaua of the Area I Criminal Investigations Section. Those with information regarding this crime may contact them at (808) 961-2255.