Former Hawai‘i County official sentenced for role in accepting bribes in multi-million dollar affordable housing scheme

A former Hawai‘i County official is headed to prison for his role in a conspiracy to receive bribes in exchange for his official actions as a Housing Specialist at the Hawai‘i County Office of Housing and Community Development.

On Thursday, May 28, Hawai‘i U.S. District Court Judge Jill Otake sentenced Alan Scott Rudo, 59, to 46 months in prison. This sentencing comes after three men were also sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy to pay bribes to Rudo in exchange for his official actions in connection with affordable housing development agreements worth more than $11 million.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Paul Joseph Sulla, 79, of Hilo, and Gary Charles Zamber, 56, of Kea‘au, both attorneys living on the Big Island, and Rajesh Pankaj Budhabhatti, 65, now of Morro Bay, Calif., a private businessman on the Big Island, conspired to pay bribes and kickbacks to Rudo in exchange for Rudo’s agreement to use his official position to ensure the county approved three affordable housing agreements benefitting the defendants’ development companies, Luna Loa Developments LLC, West View Developments LLC and Plumeria at Waikoloa LLC.

Although Rudo’s co-conspirators promised in the affordable housing agreements to build affordable housing for the residents of Hawai‘i County, their development companies never built a single unit. Through the affordable housing agreements, the defendants fraudulently obtained more than $11 million worth of land and excess affordable housing credits.

From that amount, Sulla, Zamber, and Budhabhatti paid or attempted to pay Rudo approximately $1,931,778 in bribes and kickbacks.

“What makes this offense so insidious, however, is its outright victimization of struggling Hawai‘i County residents,” according to the sentencing memorandum filed by the U.S. attorney. “For years, the lack of affordable housing has been a chronic problem for the Isle of Hawai‘i and, indeed, the nation. Hawai‘i County enacted its affordable housing policy to address this dire situation.”

In 2019, even as the conspirators continued to execute their scheme, the Big Island was suffering from a shortage of 10,000 affordable housing units, the court document states.

“Rather than build and sell or rent affordable housing to meet that need, which the County believed and trusted they would do, the defendant and his co-conspirators obtained AHAs that awarded them valuable land and AHCs,” the court document reads. “Rather than fulfill their obligations under the contracts, the conspirators sold land and credits to pad their wallets while doing nothing to build affordable housing for Big Island residents. The defendant quite literally robbed the poor to benefit himself.”

Zamber, Budhabhatti, and Sulla were charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and nine counts of honest services wire fraud. Sulla was also charged with money laundering. Rudo, who was charged separately with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, pleaded guilty and testified at the trial of his co-conspirators.

On June 4, 2025, a federal jury in the District of Hawai‘i convicted Sulla, Zamber, and Budhabhatti on all counts in a superseding indictment.

Earlier this year, the court sentenced Rudo’s co-conspirators in the bribery scheme. Zamber was sentenced on Jan. 30 to 70 months in prison; Budhabhatti was sentenced on Feb. 6 to 90 months in prison; and Sulla was sentenced on April 23 to 60 months in prison.

Zamber’s and Sulla’s law licenses are currently suspended, prohibiting them from practicing law in Hawai‘i.