Realtor allowed to defer guilty plea in tax fraud case
The isle Realtor and philanthropist gets a chance to wipe her record clean
A Honolulu Realtor who failed to disclose on her state general excise tax returns nearly $100,000 in commissions and rental income over five years* was given a chance yesterday to wipe her record clean.
Circuit Judge Derrick Chan granted Donna Walden's request to defer her guilty plea to six counts of false and fraudulent statements and one count of unsworn falsification.
Walden, 48, who is also known for her charitable work in the community, pleaded guilty in February to the charges in a complaint. She admitted to underreporting the amount of income she earned between calendar years 1999 and 2003, which was in the six-figure range.
For a clean record, she has to stay out of trouble for five years and perform 350 hours of community service.
The complaint said that in her original offer to the state Department of Taxation to settle her unpaid taxes, Walden also denied having any checking or savings accounts when in fact she had signed a signature card as joint owner of a checking account eight months earlier.
The unsworn-falsification charge stemmed from her statement to the state Tax Department that she did not transfer or hide any assets or income in the four years prior to August 2004, when she had actually redirected $400,000 in commission checks to her boyfriend and did not report it on her returns, the complaint said.
She was facing a maximum three years' imprisonment and a $100,000 fine on each of the six counts of making false statements, and one year in jail and a $2,000 fine for the unsworn falsification.
Deputy Attorney General Marcus Sierra opposed the deferral, citing a pattern of conduct in misstating her income for calendar years 1999 through 2003.
Relatives and supporters had submitted dozens of letters to the court describing Walden as a pillar in the community. Walden and her attorney could not be reached for comment.
Walden is a supporter of local theater, and she donated tens of thousands of dollars to Roosevelt High School last year for air conditioning, water fountains and other furnishings. She has also helped organize fundraising for the school.
Chan fined Walden $92,000, half of which she has paid. She still owes the state the balance of $46,000. She was also ordered to pay $41,974 restitution to state Tax Department.
CORRECTION
Friday, April 27, 2007
» Donna Walden was given a chance to wipe her record clean for failing to disclose on her state general excise tax returns nearly $100,000 in commissions and rental income over five years. A summary on Page A1 and a story on Page A6 in yesterday's morning edition incorrectly stated that Walden had failed to pay nearly $100,000 in federal taxes over five years.
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