jail a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee who
steered an earth-moving job at the Hanalei National
Wildlife Refuge on Kauai to a company in which he was
a partner.
anything wrong,” said Kevyn Paik.
After he gets out of jail, Paik will be on federal
probation for two years, including seven months of
electronically monitored home detention.
Had Paik pleaded guilty or not lied when he testified in
trial, he probably would have received community
service, as he requested, or probation, said U.S.
District Judge J. Michael Seabright.
A jury found Paik and former Fish and Wildlife
employee James Alan Duarte guilty of two counts each
of wire fraud and mail fraud.
Both men are heavy equipment operators.
Paik was responsible for maintaining the wildlife
refuge.
The jury found Paik guilty of steering a $23,500 job in
2006 to a straw contractor. Duarte then performed the
work using Paik’s equipment.
The jurors acquitted Paik and Duarte in a similar
scheme in 2005 for a $25,000 job.
As a federal employee, Paik was required by law to
disclose his interest in a company doing work for the
government related to his job.
