HONOLULU — The former University of Nations CFO pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud Monday. ADVERTISING HONOLULU — The former University of Nations CFO pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud Monday. Pablo M. Rivera, 41, of
HONOLULU — The former University of Nations CFO pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud Monday.
Pablo M. Rivera, 41, of Honolulu, will be sentenced Aug. 28 by United States District Judge Susan Oki Mollway. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. Rivera also agreed to repay UOFN $3,096,241, the amount Rivera allegedly stole.
According to court documents, from July 2014 to January, Rivera defrauded the University of Nations through a scheme that involved Rivera submitting false invoices for construction related projects on the Christian-based, missionary organization’s campus.
Elliot Enoki, acting United States attorney for the District of Hawaii, said in a press release Monday that according to court documents and information presented in court, the University of Nations tasked Rivera with hiring and paying contractors to do various jobs on the Kailua-Kona campus.
Rivera sent a series of invoices to the University of Nations which purported to reflect the true costs and labor charges of work performed by contractor KJ Walk, Inc. but in reality were false and altered KJ Walk invoices. The altered invoices falsely inflated the actual costs and wages for work performed by KJ Walk. UOFN paid the invoices, resulting in the transfer of funds from the University of Nation’s checking account to a KJ Walk corporate account that was controlled by both KJ Walk and Rivera. Once the money was transferred to the KJ Walk corporate account, Rivera made withdrawals from the KJ Walk account.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Nammar.
The University of Nations has established 600 locations across 142 countries.
