Three Men Sentenced for $11M Hawaii Affordable Housing Bribery Scheme
Summary
Gary Charles Zamber (70 months), Rajesh Pankaj Budhabhatti (90 months), and Paul Joseph Sulla (60 months) were sentenced for their roles in a scheme to bribe Alan Scott Rudo, a Housing Specialist at the Hawaii County Office of Housing and Community Development. On June 4, 2025, a jury in the District of Hawaii convicted the three defendants on all counts of a superseding indictment charging conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and nine counts of honest services wire fraud; Sulla was also convicted of money laundering. Through three affordable housing agreements (AHAs) benefitting the defendants' development companies, the defendants fraudulently obtained more than $11,000,000 worth of land and excess affordable housing credits while paying approximately $1,931,778 in bribes and kickbacks to Rudo.
“The three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and nine counts of honest services wire fraud for their roles in a scheme to bribe Alan Scott Rudo, a Housing Specialist at the OHCD.”
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What changed
Three men—two attorneys and one businessman—were sentenced in the District of Hawaii for conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and related charges arising from a scheme to bribe a public official at the Hawaii County Office of Housing and Community Development. The defendants operated through Luna Loa Developments LLC, West View Developments LLC, and Plumeria at Waikoloa LLC, using three affordable housing agreements to fraudulently obtain over $11 million in land and affordable housing credits while paying approximately $1.9 million in bribes to the housing specialist. All three defendants' law licenses (where applicable) are currently suspended, prohibiting them from practicing law in Hawaii.
For compliance professionals, this case illustrates the continued focus of the DOJ Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section on prosecuting public corruption involving government housing programs. Organizations with employees or contractors who interact with government housing authorities should ensure that anti-bribery and conflicts-of-interest controls are robust and monitored, particularly in connection with affordable housing development agreements where public funds are directed to private development entities.
Penalties
Prison sentences: Rajesh Pankaj Budhabhatti 90 months; Gary Charles Zamber 70 months; Paul Joseph Sulla 60 months
Archived snapshot
Apr 24, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
News
Press Release
Businessman and Two Attorneys Sentenced for Their Roles in Multimillion Dollar Scheme to Bribe Hawaii County Public Official
Friday, April 24, 2026
Share For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs Three men have been sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy to pay bribes to a public official at the Hawaii County Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) in exchange for his official actions in connection with affordable housing development agreements worth more than $11,000,000. Hawaii (Big Island) attorney, Gary Charles Zamber, 56, of Keaau, Hawaii, was sentenced to 70 months in prison. Former Big Island businessman, Rajesh Pankaj Budhabhatti, 65, of Morro Bay, California, was sentenced to 90 months in prison. Former Big Island attorney, Paul Joseph Sulla, 79, of Hilo, Hawaii, was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
On June 4, 2025, a jury in the District of Hawaii convicted Sulla, Zamber, and Budhabhatti on all counts of a superseding indictment. The three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and nine counts of honest services wire fraud for their roles in a scheme to bribe Alan Scott Rudo, a Housing Specialist at the OHCD. Sulla was also convicted of money laundering.
“This wasn’t just corruption – it was a calculated betrayal of the very community the defendants were supposed to serve,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Instead of building homes for struggling families looking for an onramp to a better life, the defendants built a scheme to enrich themselves, paying millions in bribes and kickbacks while pretending to help those in need. That kind of greed doesn’t just break the law – it erodes trust, damages institutions, robs honest businesses of opportunities and harms American citizens. The Criminal Division is committed to pursuing those who abuse positions of trust for personal gain.”
“Driven by greed, the defendants sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the Hawaiian community, diverting millions in much needed affordable housing resources intended to benefit Hawaii County’s poor and disadvantaged into the defendants’ own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson for the District of Hawaii. “Public corruption undermines faith in our institutions and will not be tolerated. We pledge to hold accountable those who seek to victimize the people of Hawaii by compromising our public officials and institutions for their own greed and personal gain.”
“This sentencing marks another step toward accountability for those who pollute the integrity of our government institutions with bribes and kickbacks,” said Special Agent in Charge David Porter of the FBI Honolulu Field Office. “The defendants’ criminal schemes amounted to more than bribery and fraud — they stole opportunities from Big Island families and our community as a whole. The FBI, alongside our partners, will never stop working to pursue those who undermine the public’s trust and weaken the foundations of our community through corruption and deceit.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sulla, Zamber, and Budhabhatti conspired to pay bribes and kickbacks to Rudo in exchange for Rudo’s agreement to use his official position to ensure that Hawaii County approved three affordable housing agreements (AHAs) benefitting the defendants’ development companies, Luna Loa Developments LLC, West View Developments, LLC and Plumeria at Waikoloa LLC. Although the defendants promised in the AHAs to build affordable housing for the citizens of Hawaii County, their development companies never built a single unit. Through the AHAs, the defendants fraudulently obtained more than $11,000,000 worth of land and excess affordable housing credits (AHCs). From that amount, the defendants paid or attempted to pay Rudo approximately $1,931,778 in bribes and kickbacks.
Sulla was sentenced on April 23. Zamber and Budhabhatti were sentenced on Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, respectively. Rudo, who pleaded guilty and testified at trial, will be sentenced at a later date. Zamber’s and Sulla’s law licenses are currently suspended, prohibiting them from practicing law in Hawaii.
The FBI Honolulu Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorney William J. Gullotta of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mohammad Khatib and Margaret Nammar for the District of Hawaii are prosecuting the case.
Updated April 24, 2026 Components Criminal Division Criminal - Public Integrity Section Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) USAO - Hawaii Press Release Number: 26-398
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