Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen’s former chief of staff has sued the county over alleged corruption claims that implicate the mayor himself.
According to a lawsuit filed Friday in Maui’s Second Circuit Court, Leo Caires — Bissen’s chief of staff between 2022 and 2024 — has accused the county of forcing him out of his job in December 2024 because he had discovered fraudulent activity within the county Office of Economic Development.
While the suit does not name Bissen as a defendant — the defendants include the county and several unspecified “John Doe” individuals and organizations — the text of the suit suggests that Bissen had attempted to halt investigations by Caires into cases of fraud by county staff, and had Caires fired when that failed.
The suit claims that, beginning in March 2024, Caires was informed by the county’s Corporation Counsel of a series of suspicious transactions connected to a grant awarded by the OED. Within those transactions, Caires found an invoice for more than $45,000 from a company called “RTFEX Depot,” along with a series of unverifiable transactions between Bissen’s executive assistant.
The suit identifies that assistant only through the initials MA and the nickname “Pono.” In 2024, a Pono Asano was Bissen’s executive assistant.
According to the suit, Caires could find no evidence that RTFEX Depot was a real company, and, despite the business supposedly being based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Arizona Corporation Commission told him no such business was registered in that state.
Consequently, Caires concluded that the assistant “Pono” and the recipient of the grant — identified in the suit only as “AVS” — submitted false cashiers’ checks made out to a false company to defraud the OED.
But when Caires reported the incident to Bissen, the plot thickened. After Caires issued a notice to Bissen on March 19, 2024, that he wished to interview “Pono” for an internal investigation, the lawsuit claims that Bissen “indicated that he did not want anything to do with the Notice and appeared agitated by it.”
A month later, Caires — now strongly suspicious that “Pono” and other staff in the Mayor’s Office had conspired to embezzle more than $45,000 from the county — reiterated to Bissen that an investigation should be made.
According to the suit, “Mayor Bissen got upset at Mr. Caires and ordered him to stop the investigation.”
Bissen allegedly did not fire “Pono” but reassigned him to a position in the OED, which “baffled” Caires. Only after Caires raised objections did “Pono” resign from the county.
During this time, Caires claims his duties as chief of staff were being reduced: he claims he was removed from major meetings and events, and his communications with Bissen dwindled from daily conversations to “infrequent check-ins.”
In May, Bissen told Caires the chief of staff position would be eliminated altogether for budgetary reasons, and Caires would be reassigned as the county’s Energy Commissioner, the suit states. However, the suit also claims that, after Caires was demoted to Energy Commissioner in October, Bissen then promoted “CL” to take his place, having evidently not eliminated the chief of staff position after all.
But during the “Pono” investigation, Caires also grew suspicious of the OED’s director at the time — Luana Mahi, although the lawsuit only identifies her with the initials “LM.”
Caires believed Mahi was using her position to award grants to family members, after reportedly finding a grant awarded to a business with clear ties to her husband, son and her own prior employment history.
But despite again raising these concerns with Bissen, the mayor did not share his concerns, and eventually directed Caires to sign off on the suspicious grant. The suit claims that Caires “felt intimidated” by this, and that Bissen responded, “There is nothing wrong with this.”
The county Board of Ethics later found a conflict of interest between Mahi and at least one OED grant, leading her to be placed on paid leave in August 2024.
Caires’ own county career ended shortly afterward. In September 2024, Caires’ began taking intermittent medical leave “due to conditions he developed stemming from the retaliatory acts from the County and Mayor Bissen,” the suit claims.
Upon returning from leave around Dec. 23, 2024, Caires found a termination letter from Bissen on his desk, dated Dec. 18, 2024. The letter allegedly read, in part, “You have served as Energy Commissioner since May 2024, but I have not observed the level of expertise, management skills, attention to detail, or enthusiasm for energy efficiency required to ensure the success of these initiatives."
Consequently, the suit accuses Bissen’s office of violating the Hawai‘i Whistleblowers’ Protection Act and of wrongful termination. The suit seeks unspecified compensatory, punitive and other damages.
Caires’ attorney Joe Rosenbaum said the suit has not yet been served to the county and other defendants. However, last year the Maui County Council approved hiring outside counsel — the firm Marr Jones and Wang LLLP — for pre-litigation responses to Caires' claims, to the tune of $350,000.
“I think [the suit] proves there are employees within county governments who are willing to stand up to corruption even if it costs them their jobs,” Rosenbaum told Aloha State Daily.
A statement from Bissen's office called Caires' allegations inaccurate.
"The concerns he raises were identified by others at the time, and we reject any attempt to revise history," the statement read.
“I made significant efforts to support his success, including mentorship, training, and an opportunity to continue serving as Energy Commissioner based on his prior experience,” read Bissen's statement. “Lahaina’s recovery placed extraordinary demands on everyone in public service. Ultimately, it came down to an inability to meet the expectations required. As Mayor, I have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure our team delivers for the people of Maui County. That responsibility requires making difficult decisions. I stand firmly behind the decision that was made, and I am confident it was the right one for our community. I am disappointed it has come to this.”
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