Direct

Question 1

Please state your name for the record

Answer 1

Makani Kekoa

Question 2

How are you employed?

Answer 2

I’m a detective with the Harmony Police Department, specializing in white-collar crime.

Question 3

And this police department is in the state of Buckeye?

Answer 3

It is, yes.

Question 4

Did you have a career prior to joining the Harmony PD?

Answer 4

I did.

Question 4

How many years have you been employed by the Harmony PD?

Answer 4

13 years. I was initially a patrol officer before becoming a detective.

Question 5

How many years have you been a detective?

Answer 5

8 years.

Question 6

What was that career?

Answer 6

I was a Certified Public Accountant. I passed the examination to become a CPA after obtaining my degree in both accounting and criminal justice at the Buckeye University.

Question 7

Please explain how you came to be a detective.

Answer 7

During my time as a CPA, I saw many business with questionable accounting practices and people who seemed to be looking for ways to hide money from the IRS. On one occasion I was asked by local law enforcement to assist in reviewing the books of a local business being investigated by the police it was after this experience that I decided to combine my accounting expertise with my desire to serve the community as a law enforcement officer.

Question 8

Have you had any specialized training with the Harmony PD?

Answer 8

Yes, I have.

Question 9

What was that training?

Answer 9

I was trained by the FBI in the area of forensic accounting as a part of its outreach program with local law enforcement. I was specifically chosen by Harmony PD to participate in this program, and as a result of it I am the detective at Harmony PD who is most qualified to investigate financial crimes.

Question 10

You were the lead investigator on the defendant, Espinosa, and his co defendant Diallo’s embezzlement and money laundering case, correct?

Answer 10

Correct.

Question 11

How might one discover an embezzlement?

Answer 11

It’s simple, really, though it depends how much effort the criminal uses to cover their tracks. Embezzlement traces back to company checks written to personal accounts, or altered billing information on invoices. Once our office is tipped off, usually by a business executive who notices the missing funds, we can easily connect the dots.

Question 12

Please explain to the court how you came to determine Espinosa’s involvement in the Trillium High School Embezzlement.

Answer 12

In January of 2022, my department was alerted by the Trillium high school auditor that funds in the amount of exactly $80,000 were missing, and that school treasurer Ash Espinosa could not explain the discrepancy. I learned that Espinosa was also a twenty percent owner at a junkyard; Espinosa’s cousin, Harley Diallo, owned the outstanding eighty percent. I hypothesized that with access to Trillium’s budget and the junkyard’s invoicing systems, Espinosa could be laundering money with the assistance of Diallo.

Question 13

At some point in the embezzlement investigation, did you start surveillance on the junkyard?

Answer 13

In March of 2022 I began my surveillance.

Question 14

Why were you surveilling the junkyard?

Answer 14

After learning about Trillium’s missing funds, Espinosa’s connection to the junkyard, and the potential for money laundering, I was determined to acquire evidence to support a search warrant application for the premises.

Question 15

What did you observe during this surveillance?

Answer 15

I observed some unusual activity. The junkyard itself received little traffic. Diallo and Spinosa would come and go at odd hours.

Question 16

Did you overhear their conversations?

Answer 16

Yes. They would talk out in the open, near the front gate where I could hear them with my windows open. I overheard them discussing what sounded like a money laundering scheme.

Question 17

Please describe what you heard.

Answer 17

Espinosa discussed transferring Trillium funds to the junkyard’s account, and he instructed Diallo on how much to invoice Trillium. Espinosa was always the one to initiate the conversations. Diallo seemed hesitant to make any decisions without Espinosa’s buy-in.

Question 18

Detective, based on your training and your personal observations, do you have any opinions as to whether money laundering occurred at this business?

Answer 18

Money laundering most definitely occurred at the junkyard.

Question 19

Based on your personal observations of Espinosa and Diallo during the surveillance, do you believe that one of them was calling the shots?

Answer 19

Undoubtedly.

Question 20

Which one?

Answer 20

Espinosa.

Question 21

Please explain.

Answer 21

Espinosa was the Trillium High School treasurer. He came up with the money laundering scheme. He initiated the conversations. He instructed Diallo on what dirty work to do. He was the leader. He called the shots.

Question 22

Detective Kekoa, I want to turn my questioning to the 1967 Camaro. When did you first note the presence of the Camaro?

Answer 22

I first noted its presence during my surveillance of the junkyard.

Question 23

Do you know who owned the vehicle?

Answer 23

Espinosa owned it.

Question 24

How do you know that?

Answer 24

I did some digging on public records and registrations and learned that it had been titled to Ash Espinosa in August of 2021.

Question 25

Did you see the purchase price on the title?

Answer 25

I did.

Question 26

What was it?

Answer 26

$1,000.

Question 27

Officer, through your investigation, were you made aware of any other money spent on parts for this vehicle?

Answer 27

Yes. I noted shipments of parts for the Camaro being brought into the junkyard. Over the course of my investigation, I learned that these parts totaled only approximately $5,000.

Question 28

Was the car confiscated?

Answer 28

Yes. Under my search warrant and due to my suspicion that it had been purchased with laundered funds, the Camaro was confiscated on August 12 of 2022.

Question 29

Who was involved in the inventory of the Camaro titled to defendant Espinosa?

Answer 29

Shiloh Gerami assisted me.

Question 30

What is Shiloh’s title?

Answer 30

He’s a vehicle specialist with the Harmony PD.

Question 31

How long has he been with the Harmony PD?

Answer 31

18 years.

Question 32

Do you know any of the special certifications that Shiloh Gerami holds?

Answer 32

A Certificate of Vintage Vehicle Analyst.

Question 33

Please describe what you observed during the inventory.

Answer 33

We observed that the camaro was run-down and many of its parts were worn out.

Question 34

Was the car drivable?

Answer 34

Not even close.

Question 35

How did you value the car?

Answer 35

$10,000, which includes the purchase price, the value of the new parts, and the price increase due to the vehicle rarity.

Question 36

Did you and Shiloh Gerami discuss anything further based on his knowledge of vintage vehicles?

Answer 36

I concurred with his expert opinion that the vehicle could not safely operate. I confiscated the Camaro during my search of the junkyard due to my suspicion that it had been purchased with laundered money, and this is the decision I continue to stand by.