A grand jury has indicted Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke on 12 felony counts tied to a COVID-19 contract bribery scheme, and her own Democratic governor now wants her gone.
Luke faces charges of criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and falsifying candidate committee reports, according to the New York Post. The indictment names four co-defendants: lobbyist and businessman Tobi Solidum, former state representative Ryan Yamane, Hawaii Transportation Department official Ford Fuchigami, and Leo Asunción, a former official with Hawaii's public utilities commission. All five were swept up in a state attorney general's investigation that grew out of a separate federal bribery probe.
Hours after the indictment became public, Gov. Josh Green broke with his own lieutenant governor and called on her to step down. Green told local outlet Maui Now:
"The lieutenant governor needs to consider formally resigning to address this matter and so that the state of Hawaiʻi can move forward."
Luke has refused. In a social media post, she denied wrongdoing, insisting she "never granted special favors to a contributor" and that she had "prized integrity and honesty above all throughout her career." But the indictment tells a different story, one built on alleged cash payments, a steakhouse meeting, and a lobbyist who bragged about buying influence.
The alleged scheme centers on Solidum, who represented the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii. The foundation held state contracts to operate COVID-19 testing sites, and those contracts were set to expire around January 2022. Solidum allegedly moved to protect the revenue stream by courting Luke, then a state lawmaker chairing the Hawaii House Finance Committee.
At a January 2022 meeting at a steakhouse, identified by Breitbart as Morton's Steakhouse, Solidum allegedly handed Luke two checks of $5,000 each, made out to her campaign committee, "Friends of Sylvia Luke." Luke has acknowledged receiving those two checks. She denies taking anything more.
The indictment alleges Solidum offered far more than $10,000. Prosecutors say he promised Luke a total of $70,000 and appeared to be leveraging her upcoming run for lieutenant governor to secure her cooperation. In one exchange described in the indictment, Solidum allegedly told Luke, "By next week, we'll have 35, so it will be halfway to our 70." Luke's alleged response: "Oh wow" and "That's terrific."
Solidum allegedly went further, boasting to another state representative about his access. "All I gotta do is give her more money now," he reportedly told the lawmaker, per the indictment.
Luke's corruption case is not an isolated incident among Democratic officials. A former mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, recently pleaded guilty in a separate FBI bribery sting targeting Democratic officeholders, part of a broader pattern of public corruption prosecutions reaching elected Democrats across the country.
The Washington Examiner reported that the Oahu grand jury returned 12 counts against Luke. The charges carry potential prison sentences of up to 10 years. The indictment also includes the falsifying charge, which targets the way the campaign contributions were recorded, or, prosecutors allege, concealed, in Luke's committee filings.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez launched the investigation in January, describing it as an offshoot of a federal bribery probe. The specific federal agency or court conducting that parallel investigation has not been publicly identified. Lopez framed the prosecution as a matter of following the evidence wherever it leads.
Newsmax reported Lopez's statement on the case:
"From the outset of this investigation, I have repeated that we have a commitment to following the facts to where they lead, no matter how long it takes to get there."
The charges against the four co-defendants, Solidum, Yamane, Fuchigami, and Asunción, have not been detailed individually in public reporting. Their specific alleged roles in the scheme remain unclear beyond their inclusion in the same grand jury action.
AP News reported that Luke had already abandoned her reelection campaign and taken an indefinite unpaid leave of absence before the grand jury acted. Gov. Green had previously asked her to step aside "until the investigation is resolved, so government can remain focused on serving the people of Hawaii." Green designated state comptroller Keith Regan as acting lieutenant governor during Luke's absence.
Luke issued a statement at the time of her leave acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations. "I understand that allegations which have been made against me are concerning," she said. "I ask for the public's understanding and to allow this process to move forward appropriately."
That process has now moved forward, into a 12-count indictment. Green's call for resignation makes clear that an unpaid leave is no longer enough in his view. Luke, as of the most recent reporting, has not resigned.
The Hawaii case adds to a growing list of legal troubles facing prominent Democratic officeholders. In California, a DOJ investigation into Gov. Gavin Newsom has raised questions about whether legal exposure could derail his political future. The pattern is hard to miss: officials who built careers on public trust now face courtrooms instead of campaign stages.
The alleged bribery scheme revolved around state contracts for COVID-19 testing, a category of government spending that exploded during the pandemic with minimal oversight in many states. The National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii held those contracts, and Solidum, its lobbyist, allegedly treated campaign donations as the price of keeping the money flowing.
Luke chaired the House Finance Committee at the time, a position that gave her direct influence over state spending. The indictment's core allegation is straightforward: Solidum paid, and Luke delivered, or at least promised to deliver, favorable treatment on the contracts.
Luke's defense so far rests on a narrow claim. She admits taking the two $5,000 checks but insists no money influenced her legislative work. The indictment, however, describes a lobbyist who spoke openly about buying her support and a lawmaker who responded to promises of $70,000 with enthusiasm.
Accountability for elected officials has become a recurring flashpoint. In New York, Mayor Mamdani faced public backlash over attempts to deflect criticism of his administration's record, another case where voters watched an official dodge responsibility rather than accept it.
Neither the governor's office nor Luke's office responded to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Several key questions remain unanswered. Luke has not been arraigned, and no plea has been entered. The status of the National Kidney Foundation's state contracts is unclear. And the federal bribery probe that spawned the state investigation continues in the background, its scope and targets still undisclosed.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has signaled a broader willingness to hold state and local officials accountable. Federal prosecutors have warned officials in all 50 states that violations of federal law will be met with prosecution, a posture that makes cases like Luke's harder for party leaders to quietly manage.
When a lobbyist brags about buying a lawmaker and the lawmaker calls it "terrific," the public doesn't need a conviction to know something went wrong. They just need leaders willing to act on it, and in Hawaii, that reckoning is overdue.