Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke has been indicted on bribery charges after a months-long state investigation into an alleged campaign finance scheme.
According to The New York Times, Luke was indicted on charges of “criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery and falsifying candidate committee reports as part of an investigation into an alleged $35,000 bribe paid to her in 2022.”
She was a state lawmaker at the time.
Luke allegedly accepted “at least $35,000 in campaign contributions in exchange for using her position as chair of the Hawaii House Finance Committee to help advance a COVID-19 testing contract,” Daily Caller stated.
Hawaii Democratic Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke was indicted Friday on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and falsifying campaign committee reports after prosecutors alleged she accepted at least $35,000 in campaign contributions in exchange for helping advance… pic.twitter.com/R3L4H983tI
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 26, 2026
More from The New York Times:
Ms. Luke, a Democrat, was one of five individuals indicted on Friday. The others were Ryan Yamane, a former state representative; Tobi Solidum, a businessman and lobbyist; Ford Fuchigami, an official with Hawaii’s Transportation Department; and Leo Asunción, a former official with Hawaii’s public utilities commission.
David Louie, a former state attorney general Ms. Luke hired as a lawyer this year, according to local news reports, could not immediately be reached for comment. It was unclear on Friday whether the other four people charged were represented by lawyers.
Before any charges were announced, Ms. Luke had taken a leave of absence. She was replaced by an acting lieutenant governor, and abandoned her bid for re-election.
In a statement posted on social media several months ago, Ms. Luke said that she had “never granted special favors to a contributor,” adding that she had “prized integrity and honesty above all” throughout her career.
“It’s unfortunate,” said State Representative Diamond Garcia, a Republican. “It goes to show that the system that’s been in control of the state for so many years is following through with the perception that the public has had for so many years.”
“The investigation spawned from the federal bribery case that landed former state Rep. Ty Cullen and former state Sen. Kalani English in prison,” Hawaii News Now wrote.
“The Department of the Attorney General Special Investigation and Prosecution Division spent the past six months following up on that federal investigation,” it continued.
Watch below:
The indictments against five people, including Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and current airports administrator Ford Fuchigami, followed a day-long grand jury session.
The investigation spawned from the federal bribery case that landed former state Rep. Ty Cullen and former state Sen.… pic.twitter.com/VT7r0uvsDL
— Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) July 25, 2026
The Hill shared further:
The charges stem from allegations that Luke accepted at least $35,000 in campaign contributions from businessman and lobbyist Tobi Solidum in exchange for support for testing sites operated by the National Kidney Foundation, where Solidum served as a lobbyist and consultant.
Prosecutors allege Solidum handed Luke two $5,000 campaign checks during a meeting at a Morton’s The Steakhouse in January 2022, where the two allegedly discussed state funding for COVID-19 testing sites, according to court filings.
ADVERTISEMENTAttorney General Anne Lopez (D) said the indictments followed an investigation launched in January that stemmed from a federal public corruption probe.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) told Politico that he believes Luke should resign in light of the findings.
