Claims he’s citizen of Hawaiian Kingdom, not U.S. Most people are afraid of the tax man. But Harry Ikeda, a Lihu’e barber, recently found guilty of two counts of failing to file state excise taxes (1998 and 1999) and one
Claims he’s citizen of Hawaiian Kingdom, not U.S.
Most people are afraid of the tax man.
But Harry Ikeda, a Lihu’e barber, recently found guilty of two counts of failing to file state excise taxes (1998 and 1999) and one count of failing to have a general excise tax license, is not one of them.
Ikeda, who is slated to be sentenced in Circuit Court this December and faces a maximum of three years in prison and $75,000 in fines, has filed a counter-claim for damages against the state, the state’s tax department, and the court that found him guilty.
Ikeda filed his claim last Friday through the man he now claims is his legal representative, Aran Ardaiz, of the Hawaiian Kingdom. According to Ardaiz, Ikeda has renounced his U.S. citizenship and is now a subject of the kingdom.
Ardaiz said the state ignored his legal challenge to prove lawful jurisdiction over Ikeda.
Ikeda, through Ardaiz, is suing the state for $500,000 in damages, claiming fraud, conspiracy and defamation of character.
Lawrence Goya, senior deputy state attorney general, said in a formal response that Hawai’i “is under no obligation” to Ikeda’s claim and that the court has jurisdiction over the case.
Ikeda’s “refusal to acknowledge that he is a citizen of the United States … has no bearing on the court’s jurisdiction to find him guilty,” Goya stated.
Ikeda is free on his own recognizance.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
