WAILUKU - A Kahului man was ordered to pay more than $55,000 in restitution after he took advantage of an elderly woman who had paid him to do construction work on her home last year.
Second Circuit Judge Richard Bissen said the only reason 47-year-old Bryan Figaroa wasn't being sent to prison was so he could repay the money.
"If he fails to pay any of the payments throughout his probation, the sentence will be the prison term," Bissen said.
Figaroa had pleaded no contest to first-degree theft and unlicensed activity for stealing from the woman from Feb. 28 to May 16, 2007. The woman is older than 65.
In describing the crime, Deputy Prosecutor J.D. Kim said that "although not heinous, it is despicable."
Shigeto "Mustard" Murayama, who was in court Friday to represent the woman, said she wanted to ensure that Figaroa didn't take advantage of someone else in the same way. In addition to being elderly, the woman wasn't knowledgeable about how to hire someone to repair her home, Murayama said.
"This is not the first time that he took advantage of an elderly person," Murayama said.
As part of a plea agreement, the prosecution agreed not to seek incarceration for Figaroa.
In court Friday, Figaroa apologized.
"I try not to take from nobody," he said. "I try to do my best in life."
Deputy Public Defender Kerry Ison said Figaroa was working and had $5,000 to pay toward restitution.
She said Figaroa was "neither licensed nor trustworthy in terms of construction work."
"To be honest, he doesn't do very good work and he isn't always very thorough," Ison said. "I don't believe there was an intention on his part to simply take money from this individual and run. He got a lot more money than was due to him, and I don't think he performed in a very professional manner."
Figaroa's prior convictions include 20 counts of second-degree theft and 10 counts of third-degree forgery, according to court records. In 1999, Figaroa was sentenced to a five-year prison term in three criminal cases.
Bissen said he had intended to sentence Figaroa to prison, noting his criminal history of 36 prior arrests and 31 prior convictions. But the judge said he was following the wishes of the victim, who wanted to be repaid, in placing Figaroa on five years' probation.
Figaroa was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution within one week of Friday's sentencing and the rest of the $55,137 at a rate of $500 a month. He was given credit for nine days he spent in jail.
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.
