1 year jail for stealing from homeless outreach nonprofit

HONOLULU (AP) — An Oahu woman must spend a year in jail for stealing more than half-a-million dollars from a nonprofit organization that helps homeless families.

The state attorney general’s office announced Tuesday that a judge sentenced Sophina Placencia to a year in jail and four years of probation. She’s also been ordered to pay at least $200 per month toward restitution. At that rate it could take 200 years to repay what was stolen.

Placencia was director of Waianae Community Outreach when she was arrested in 2015 for taking money from the nonprofit.

Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin calls the theft a slap in the face to the people of Waianae and a violation of a mission to help needy families.

Placencia is scheduled to begin serving her jail sentence on May 15.