WAILUA — About 80 people gathered at Coco Palms Sunday, expecting to be ejected and possibly arrested from the property.
But no law enforcement officers showed up to enforce the ejectment ordered last week by District Court Judge Michael Soong, after a nearly two-month-long civil trial.
Soong’s ruling ejected co-defendants Noa Mau-Espirito and Kamu “Charles” Hepa from the land. But not their supporters.
Mau-Espirito and Hepa watched from off the site. They didn’t want to get arrested, because they still want to fight for the land they claim is theirs through royal patent and ancestry.
Instead, the group of supporters stood at the entrance to the property where a gate once stood to keep the occupiers of the land safe.
During the trial, Mau-Espirito spoke of the many threats they received from people they say were employed by development company Coco Palms Hui.
Now that the trial is over, the gate’s been removed. The sentiment that’s been heard throughout the camp this weekend is that the people are now the protectors of the aina.
During Sunday’s ceremony, kupuna Puanani Rogers spoke, imploring those present to spread the aloha to the ohana.
“We’re all here for a good thing,” she said. “Thank you for being here. This is a good thing.”
Rogers said she was proud to be standing there, representing her family and everyone she loves.
“The greatest gift we can give is to forgive,” she said. “Stay in the attitude of aloha.”
Kupuna Liko Martin also spoke to the group, commending Mau-Espirito and Hepa for their bravery during the nearly year-long ordeal. He said if arrests were made, he would be the first one to go.
“But if someone comes here, I want to greet them and ‘E komo mai’ them,” Martin said.
“The story that’s going to unfold is a beautiful story of healing and forgiveness,” he told The Garden Island in a statement.
“It’s about doing everything we can do to live peacefully and together.”
The story, Martin said, isn’t just for the Hawaiian or Polynesian people. “It’s for the world,” he said.
After the ceremony, those present were invited to give a blessing on an altar near the entrance to the land.
Those remaining on the property said they will file claims of their own.
They won’t leave, they said.
Chad Waters of Coco Palms Hui could not be reached for comment.
Ah so. Even when they ARE given respect as they demand over and over and over, they have no respect for others, nor the right of law. The KPD has been so cool about this; you guys just want some kind of showdown. Just leave. You gonna force a violent confrontation? Shame. I saw all the new cars down there, those guys claim they’re ALSO Alii too? All you guys Alii now? Just go.
EXACTLY!! The whole scene down there since the ruling is embarrassing and shameful. Bunch of young boys hanging out on beach chairs along the road with their faces in their cell phones and even riding tricycles on the main road like the little kids they truly are.
Forgiveness is only valid if those responsible for the continuance of genocide against Hawaiians actually resolve the crimes they commit against native peoples. The judge himself a illegal immigrant has no jurisdiction in such matters since Native Hawaiians were illegally overthrown. Instead Hawaiians should put a curse on all who commit crimes against them.
Remember the past…..don’t live it. Get over it. It’s been 6 generations.
Really? A curse? The judge isn’t even hawaiian huh? Well why don’t you also mention that more than half of those involved in this suit have not one single drop of Hawaiian either?
Judge Michael Soong IS A HAWAIIAN. His ancestry is Hawaiian/Chinese. You folks have absolutely no idea who has Hawaiian blood and who does not.
Your mayor was seen at the January 19th, 2018 Polynesian Football Hall Of Fame dinner, at Sheraton Waikiki hotel. He was with former assistant coach Chris Naole.
…And your point is??????
Imua!
Maikai hana.
MAHALO
Ha! Nobody cares..Kudos to the KPD for not allowing themselves to waste resources on these attention starved publicity whores! Keep up the good work KDP.. Too bad the lame staff TGI took the bait.
Yes, KPD doesn’t need to waste resources, by respecting their claim, letting them use the land, and leaving them alone.
Using racism to Extort something! Sounds like j.jackson may be Involved? Beat it Squatters!
The CORPORATION Hyatt GREENEWATERS ARE USING ILLEGAL TACTICS AND WRONG FILINGS IN DISTRICT COURTS THIS IS NO LANDLORD TENANT CASE .. SEE rule 12.9 (d)
The district courts shall not have cognizance of real action;nor actions in which the title to real estate comes in question
What is also interesting is that the author of most of the Garden Island coverage of these events is Bethany Freudenthal a close Facebook friend and supporter of these misguided activists. Sadly Bethany, a mainland transplant, has no clue of the history and believes all the misinformation these occupiers spout out. How’s that for impartial reporting?
Good. The US-aligned police do not need to come. Let them reclaim this land, deconstruct Coco Palms themselves and begin using it. It does not belong to the development company.
When these boys first started this lawsuit, I believed in them. But a few months ago my son was up loop road reservoir fishing and one of the group living at Coco Palms was up there walking around. He struck up a conversation with my son and said if the Coco Palms “thing” didn’t work out that the group was going to move everyone up behind the reservoir and “try again there”. –
We all work for our land and property; nothing is free.
No bathrooms and running water. This is a health hazard and the DOH should be doing something about this. Is the river and land being polluted? Where are the people using the bathroom, or trash or human waste?
THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY APPEAR!
Coco Palms Hyatt Resort developers have solicited investment loans of $500,000 each from as many as 172 wealthy Foreign Nationals, in exchange for automatic Green Cards and a direct path to U.S. Citizenship for these rich investors and each of their family members. These EB-5 Visas are often referred to as “Golden Visas’ for this reason.
This Coco Palms Application, in the link below, shows how $86 million (2/3’s of the budget) for the 12,000 sq.’ Hyatt Resort was being raised through wealthy Foreign Nationals in exchange for Green Cards and a path to U.S. Citizenship for them and their family.
These types of insured $500,000 ‘investment loans’ from wealthy foreign investors are happening all over Kaua`i, Hawai`i, and the United States of America —
“The proposal identifies the new commercial enterprise (“NCE”) of the project as Lexden Coco Palms Loan Company, LLC, which was formed in the State of Delaware on January 31, 2014. The project is located at 4-947 Kuhio Highway, Kapaa, on the island of Kauai in the State of Hawaii. 172 immigrant investors will subscribe to the NCE as limited partners in exchange for capital contributions of $500,000 each and an aggregate of $86 million. The NCE will loan the $86 million of EB-5 capital to a third-party entity, Coco Palms Resort. The EB-5 capital loan proceeds will be used to acquire and re-launch The Coco Palm Resort as the Coco Palms by Hyatt in Kauai.”
You can find this quote in the Lexden-Coco Palms Loan Company, LLC application at this link —
http://www.cocopalmseb5.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Approval_Lexden_Hawaii.pdf
The problem is, not even the U.S. Government is able to verify the true identities of these wealthy investors and their families, nor are they actually able to validate where this money comes from. That is why these types of investments may pose a National Security threat for us all. Here is a report from the United States Government Accountability Office —
“The report concluded that because of difficulties ensuring the integrity of the Regional Center Program, USCIS was limited in its ability to prevent fraud or national security threats and could not demonstrate that the program was benefiting the U.S. economy and creating full-time employment as required by law.”
“USCIS has identified fraud and national security risks in the EB-5 Program in various assessments it conducted over time and in collaboration with its interagency partners.”
“Specifically, a senior FDNS official noted that while adjudication of petitions in the EB-5 Program, like other immigration programs, centers on the eligibility of the petitioner, the EB-5 Program also has an investment component that creates increased program complexity and the potential for fraud risks.”
“However, according to USCIS officials, it can be difficult to verify the sources of immigrant investors’ funds and such verification difficulties could pose fraud risks to the program. For example, USCIS officials told us that some petitioners may have strong incentives to report inaccurate information about the source of their funds on their applications in instances when the funds come from illicit—and thus ineligible—sources, such as funds obtained through drug trade, human trafficking, or other criminal activities.”
“USCIS officials said that IPO and FDNS did not have a means to verify self-reported immigrant financial information with many foreign banks. In addition, both USCIS and State officials noted that they did not have authority to verify banking information with many foreign countries. For example, State officials said that because the U.S. government lacks access to many foreign financial systems, there is no reliable method to verify the source of the funds of petitioners.”
“Legitimacy of investment entity – The amount of investment required to participate in the EB-5 Program, coupled with the fact that EB-5 investors are making an investment in order to obtain an immigration benefit, can create fraud risks tied to unscrupulous regional center operators and intermediaries. According to SEC officials, they have identified instances of fraudulent investment schemes, including securities fraud, related to EB-5 investments.”
https://www.gao.gov/assets/680/671940.pdf
This ‘Advisory’ from the ‘U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’ (FinCEN) one of many reasons the Lexden-Coco Palms Loan Company’s statement about their EB-5 Visa program should be a concern to us all —
“Although FinCEN to date has focused on residential real estate, money laundering can also involve commercial real estate transactions.”
“Real estate transactions and the real estate market have certain characteristics that make them vulnerable to abuse by illicit actors seeking to launder criminal proceeds. For example, many real estate transactions involve high-value assets, opaque entities, and processes that can limit transparency because of their complexity and diversity. In addition, the real estate market can be an attractive vehicle for laundering illicit gains because of the manner in which it appreciates in value, “cleans” large sums of money in a single transaction, and shields ill-gotten gains from market instability and exchange-rate fluctuations. For these reasons and others, drug traffickers, corrupt offcials, and other criminals can and have used real estate to conceal the existence and origins of their illicit funds.”
“FinCEN’s analysis of BSA and GTO reported data, law enforcement information, and real estate deed records, as depicted by the case studies in this advisory, indicates that high-value residential real estate markets are vulnerable to penetration by foreign and domestic criminal organizations and corrupt actors, especially those misusing otherwise legitimate limited liability companies or other legal entities to shield their identities. In addition, when these transactions are conducted without any financing (i.e., “all-cash”), they can potentially avoid traditional anti-money laundering (AML) measures adopted by lending financial institutions, presenting increased risk.”
“Money laundering is a crime orchestrated to conceal the source of illegal proceeds so that the money can be used without detection of its criminal source.”
“Use of Shell Companies Decreases Transparency – Criminals launder money to obscure the illicit origin of their funds. To this end, money launderers can use a number of vehicles to reduce the transparency of their transactions. One such vehicle, highlighted in the below case study, is the use of shell companies. Shell companies are typically non-publicly traded corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), or trusts that have no physical presence beyond a mailing address and generate little to no independent economic value.Most shell companies are formed by individuals and businesses for legitimate purposes, such as to hold stock or assets of another business entity or to facilitate domestic and international currency trades, asset transfers, and corporate mergers. Shell companies can often be formed without disclosing the individuals that ultimately own or control them (i.e., their beneficial owners) and can be used to conduct financial transactions without disclosing their true beneficial owners’ involvement. Criminals abuse this anonymity to mask their identities, involvement in transactions, and origins of their wealth, hindering law enforcement efforts to identify individuals behind illicit activity.”
“Criminals can use all-cash purchases to make payments in full for properties and evade scrutiny— on themselves and the origin of their wealth—that is regularly performed by financial institutions in transactions involving mortgages. All-cash transactions account for nearly one in four residential real estate purchases, totaling hundreds of billions of dollars nationwide, and are particularly exposed to abuse.”
The entire FinCEN report can be read at this link —
https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/advisory/2017-08-22/Risk%20in%20Real%20Estate%20Advisory_FINAL%20508%20Tuesday%20%28002%29.pdf
Here is how another Kaua`i resort development is soliciting these EB-5 investment loans to wealthy Foreign Nationals —
http://www.sihl.in/pdf/hyatt-coconut-beach-resort-hawaii.pdf
As this 2015 column explains —
“WHAT’S REALLY AT STAKE IN THE EB-5 INVESTOR VISA OVERHAUL: HONESTY”
“Through the EB-5 visa program, wealthy foreigners can invest $500,000 to $1 million in development projects and in turn, receive green cards for themselves and family members if the investment can be shown to create 10 U.S. jobs. The program is now up for Congressional reauthorization.”
“The ability to monetize a scarce public asset — access to the United States — has become a gravy train for developers seeking cheap loans, immigration attorneys, China-based migration agencies and federally-authorized investment packagers known as regional centers.”
“The profits at stake prompt deceptive practices — both in marketing investments and claiming job creation — that distort the intent if not the letter of the law.”
“But claiming that EB-5 investments create jobs at no expense to the taxpayer is bogus. It’s also why an expected compromise regarding reauthorization of EB-5 falls short, despite improvements to the program.”
“The green card alchemizes profits. Think about it: As long they get green cards, the immigrant investors don’t really care about interest and will take a 1 percent return. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs getting the loan are eager to pay the regional center 5 to 8 percent as opposed to 12 percent they might have to pay on the open market.”
“Yes, it’s unseemly that green cards can be acquired so cheaply. And I say cheaply, because remember, investors are not giving up $500,000; they’re just parking it for five years or so, and the major cost is foregone interest and fees.”
“The Government Accountability Office this year concluded that the agency overseeing EB-5, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, could not validly analyze job creation. After all, projects financed through regional centers don’t require a headcount of employees. An economist’s report, which calculates not only direct jobs, but also indirect and induced jobs caused by spending, can suffice.”
“One of the oddities about the EB-5 program is that the U.S. government is giving out the green cards, but the entrepreneur who puts together the investment gets the money. This scheme seems inefficient and open to corruption.”
“EB-5 represents “corporate welfare” for certain businesses.”
“In a modest reform, the new legislation mandates that one of the 10 required jobs be a direct job, validated with a head count.
“So the EB-5 industry will still benefit from rules that allow them to credit immigrant investors for jobs created by the entire pot of money.”
“In other words, the immigrant investors got credit for jobs financed by public subsidies and government-authorized tax-free bonds, funding that was already in place, not leveraged by the EB-5 investment.”
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/column-whats-really-at-stake-in-the-eb-5-investor-visa-overhaul-honesty
We have to Wake Up to the reality that this is happening all over Hawai`i — not not only through the Coco Palms Hyatt Resort developers, but Everywhere!
Please support the Hawaiians in their fight to protect their homelands from big developers who are using opaque foreign investment `loans’ to develop their lands and reroute Hawaii’s natural water systems.
Most of those posting are trying to distort historical fact that the white men were and are still barbaric parasites who murdered millions of native American Indians, stole their lands as in the case of Hawaiians who was recognized as a independent nation among nations like England, France, Japan, Russia and America before the illegal overthrow, mainly to secure a military presence in Pearl Harbor. Even the UN recognize this occurred, but not the ignorant ones who say “get over it”.
If the law is not enforced, what comes next? What would prevent someone who is claiming to be of Hawaiian ancestry from squatting on your home? Let’s just speculate that they fancy your property that you worked hard and saved for years to finally buy. Then, one day, these people claim that it is theirs? Think about it.
Coco Palms Hui, LLC does not own the land. That is the issue. These Hawaiians are not squatters, they legally hold title to the land. This is why this Delaware corporation, owned by a New York institutional & private equity corporation, sued the Hawaiians in a court that is not allowed to consider evidence related to the true title holders of the land.
Coco Palms Hui, LLC can not prove that they hold title to these lands, and the Hawaiians that live there can prove that they do. This is why this court case has been so frustrating for the Native Hawaiian defendants.
From “Native Hawaiians and U.S. Law” at the link below —
“As other chapters have demonstrated, the government formed by and for the benefit of Native Hawaiians was deprived of the most basic right of a nation, the right to exist. This deprivation was accomplished with the assistance of the U .S. minister to Hawai‘i and the aid of American troops and was based upon a pretense that not even a special commissioner appointed by the newly elected President Grover Cleveland could accept. Those actions represented a clear violation of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i’s right to independence and the principle of nonintervention. In 1893, the actions were condemned by the president’s special envoy, by U.S. Secretary of State Walter O. Gresham, and ultimately by President Cleveland. While time may have changed the circumstances of the native people, it has not changed the initial wrong, made it any less reprehensible, or alleviated the consequential damage.
As a result of that initial wrong, Kānaka Maoli lost both the internal and external rights and control that are paramount to a sovereign nation. Hawaiians lost the right to choose a form of government, to make laws, to oversee their domain, and to provide for their common good. They lost the right to stand as an equal in the international community, to make agreements and treaties with other nations, and to exhibit the external manifestations of sovereignty. While these losses may not be actionable in the U.S. judicial system, they nevertheless require redress.
These losses resulted not solely from the acts of the U.S. minister to Hawai‘i but also from prior events leading up to annexation. As early as 1887, a significant number of Native Hawaiians had been disenfranchised due to restrictive voting qualifications contained in the 1887 Constitution. This constitution had been forced upon King David Kalākaua by a small but powerful group of Western businessmen. It is clear that the moving force in overthrowing the monarchy was this same group of businessmen, most of whom were American or European. There was no pretense on their part that the native population supported their cause. Indeed, they took the paternalistic attitude that the natives did not know what was best for them and that, ultimately, Native Hawaiians would bene t from annexation to the United States.”
“The entire process of annexation, from the 1887 Bayonet Constitution to the 1898 Joint Resolution of Annexation, denied Kānaka Maoli the most fundamental right of self-determination. As expressed simply and most eloquently by Ka Pākaukau, a coalition of Hawaiian sovereignty groups:
[Sovereignty] is the right possessed by a culturally distinct people inhabiting and controlling a definable territory . . . to make all decisions regarding itself and its territory free from outside interference. It is what Hawaiians enjoyed under their own culture and constitution before armed U.S. intervention brought about the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. Sovereignty is not something that can be given to us—we can only assert it or give it up. . . . We Native Hawaiians have never voluntarily surrendered our sovereignty. We were never allowed to vote on the Republic or Annexation, and we had no chance to vote separately on statehood.”
“In the resolution, Congress stated that the Hawaiian people had “never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people,” and it apologized for the participation of agents and citizens of the United States in the overthrow and “the deprivation of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-determination.” The right to self-determination is the most basic of human rights under federal and international law, and efforts to facilitate the exercise of this right are mandated by fundamental human rights principles.”
“Congress also acknowledged in the resolution that the Republic of Hawai‘i had ceded 1,800,000 acres of Crown Lands, Government Lands, and public lands of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people or their sovereign government; that the Native Hawaiian people had never directly relinquished their claims over their national lands to the United States; and that the overthrow had been illegal.”
You can read this entire document at the following link —
http://www.naiaupuni.org/docs/pres/mm/Ch.%205%20NHwns.%20&%20U.S.%20Law%20excerpt.pdf
The kanaka in Wailua are not living in the unsafe structure of the old hotel. They are living on their legally titled land behind that property, where they are tending to native plants and natural water systems.
These are not homeless squatters, they are Hawaiian families who take good care of their land — I know, because I’ve been there; and it is clean and well organized.
These families are respected members of our community. However, the Coco Palms Hyatt developers, and their social media trolls, have been painting these courageous Hawaiian families in negative and slanderous ways.
The developers filed this lawsuit in a type of court that doesn’t allow title evidence, and the Hawaiian defendants couldn’t afford an attorney. The U.S. court system is very hard to navigate for Peoples of other cultures who can not afford expensive legal advice.
The kanaka who are standing strong in Wailua are now only $1240 away from their goal!
Please click on this GoFundMe account below and donate whatever you can. Give what ever you can afford, as even small amounts from many people can make a big difference!
Mahalo nui loa
https://www.gofundme.com/wailua-ahupuaa?pc=fb_dn_cpgnsharemore_r&rcid=r01-151667990298-6be196d4694e4049
I HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH COCO PALMS SINCE 1968. AND A STOCKHOLDER. MAY I ASK “WHERE WERE THE SUPPOSED HEIRS OF THE LANd “COCoNUT GROVE” WHEN FIRES< HURRICANES< FINANCIAL TRIALS HOW ABOUT SOME RESPECT FOR LYLE & GRACE NOW ???WHAT HAVE THE POACHERS BROUGHT TO THE TABLE ?? PLEASE ADVISE CHRIS
From “Native Hawaiians and U.S. Law” at the link below —
“As other chapters have demonstrated, the government formed by and for the benefit of Native Hawaiians was deprived of the most basic right of a nation, the right to exist. This deprivation was accomplished with the assistance of the U .S. minister to Hawai‘i and the aid of American troops and was based upon a pretense that not even a special commissioner appointed by the newly elected President Grover Cleveland could accept. Those actions represented a clear violation of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i’s right to independence and the principle of nonintervention. In 1893, the actions were condemned by the president’s special envoy, by U.S. Secretary of State Walter O. Gresham, and ultimately by President Cleveland. While time may have changed the circumstances of the native people, it has not changed the initial wrong, made it any less reprehensible, or alleviated the consequential damage.
As a result of that initial wrong, Kānaka Maoli lost both the internal and external rights and control that are paramount to a sovereign nation. Hawaiians lost the right to choose a form of government, to make laws, to oversee their domain, and to provide for their common good. They lost the right to stand as an equal in the international community, to make agreements and treaties with other nations, and to exhibit the external manifestations of sovereignty. While these losses may not be actionable in the U.S. judicial system, they nevertheless require redress.
These losses resulted not solely from the acts of the U.S. minister to Hawai‘i but also from prior events leading up to annexation. As early as 1887, a significant number of Native Hawaiians had been disenfranchised due to restrictive voting qualifications contained in the 1887 Constitution. This constitution had been forced upon King David Kalākaua by a small but powerful group of Western businessmen. It is clear that the moving force in overthrowing the monarchy was this same group of businessmen, most of whom were American or European. There was no pretense on their part that the native population supported their cause. Indeed, they took the paternalistic attitude that the natives did not know what was best for them and that, ultimately, Native Hawaiians would bene t from annexation to the United States.”
“The entire process of annexation, from the 1887 Bayonet Constitution to the 1898 Joint Resolution of Annexation, denied Kānaka Maoli the most fundamental right of self-determination. As expressed simply and most eloquently by Ka Pākaukau, a coalition of Hawaiian sovereignty groups:
[Sovereignty] is the right possessed by a culturally distinct people inhabiting and controlling a definable territory . . . to make all decisions regarding itself and its territory free from outside interference. It is what Hawaiians enjoyed under their own culture and constitution before armed U.S. intervention brought about the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. Sovereignty is not something that can be given to us—we can only assert it or give it up. . . . We Native Hawaiians have never voluntarily surrendered our sovereignty. We were never allowed to vote on the Republic or Annexation, and we had no chance to vote separately on statehood.”
“In the resolution, Congress stated that the Hawaiian people had “never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people,” and it apologized for the participation of agents and citizens of the United States in the overthrow and “the deprivation of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-determination.” The right to self-determination is the most basic of human rights under federal and international law, and efforts to facilitate the exercise of this right are mandated by fundamental human rights principles.”
“Congress also acknowledged in the resolution that the Republic of Hawai‘i had ceded 1,800,000 acres of Crown Lands, Government Lands, and public lands of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people or their sovereign government; that the Native Hawaiian people had never directly relinquished their claims over their national lands to the United States; and that the overthrow had been illegal.”
You can read this entire document at the following link —
http://www.naiaupuni.org/docs/pres/mm/Ch.%205%20NHwns.%20&%20U.S.%20Law%20excerpt.pdf
Was the Hawaiian Kingdom a made up kingdom? 1754. I didn’t see why their way of living would have sustained future generations to come. In other words, sickness & diseases caused them to die at an early age. No healthcare back in 1754 year.
I just spent 3 minutes trying to scroll past what seemed like a 785 page single “out of left field” response. I thought this was Garden Island News, not Craig’s list rants & raves.
Regardless of who took what illegally or legally, that is to be decided in a COURT OF LAW. Having a big party for all of Kauai’s homeless and unemployed like the one going on at Coco Palms right now is NOT helping their case. Fully grown men riding on the main road on tricycles? Is that how they will convince Judge Soong or Kauaiians to take them seriously? Give me a break. File court papers. Stop using this as an excuse to loiter and jump on a disbanded band wagon.