WAILUKU — Former Maui resident and The Mortgage Store owner George Lindell, who was convicted with his daughter of bilking 166 people out of more than $26 million in a Ponzi scheme, has been granted “compassionate release” after serving about a third of his 17-year federal prison sentence.

In a ruling Feb. 5, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson reduced Lindell’s sentence to the approximately five years and eight months he already had served, citing Lindell’s loss of vision from age-related macular degeneration while in prison.

“The Court finds that Lindell’s preventable vision loss constitutes an extraordinary and compelling reason warranting the reduction he seeks,” Watson wrote in granting Lindell’s request to be released. “Despite the contemptible nature of his crimes, his failure to take responsibility and his apparently cavalier attitude towards his many victims, Lindell did nothing to deserve the loss of what many consider to be their most vital sense.”

Lindell was sentenced in September 2016 to 17 years and six months in prison.

The previous year, a federal jury convicted him of eight mail fraud charges, two wire fraud charges and four counts of money laundering in connection with an investment scheme tied to the mortgage and insurance business he ran with his daughter, Holly Hoaeae.

He lured potential investors with the promise of guaranteed 7 percent returns, only to use the invested funds in an unsustainable high-risk portfolio and to maintain his lavish lifestyle, according to the court opinion.

Lindell built a $3.5 million residence in Launiupoko, in large part with investor funds, according to federal prosecutors.

He and Hoaeae were ordered to pay $8.9 million in restitution, representing the net loss.

Lindell reported having “two good eyes” when he entered prison in 2015.

By March 2017, he reported to prison health officials that he was having difficulty reading a white board and small print. An ophthalmology exam was recommended the following month but didn’t occur until December 2017.

In January 2018, he was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration.

Although he was referred to a retina specialist in early March 2018, he wasn’t seen by the specialist until eight months later. He received his first injections to treat the condition in November 2018, when doctor’s notes indicated his blurred vision was severe and said he would need monthly injection treatments.

Lindell reported receiving seven injections in his left eye and six in his right eye in nearly three years. He reported losing almost all of his vision in his left eye and rapidly losing vision in his right eye.

He said his poor eyesight had affected his balance and he injured himself by accidentally walking into a fence in prison.

The court said that Lindell’s “deteriorating eyesight — particularly in light of the fact that such deterioration could have been delayed or wholly arrested but for the failure to timely provide appropriate medical treatment — presents an extraordinary and compelling reason warranting a sentence reduction.”

The court also said that “if Lindell is left incarcerated, he will likely continue to lose his sight while sight-saving treatments are denied him.”

The court opinion said there was little risk that Lindell would commit similar crimes when released.

“Lindell’s crimes involved sophisticated financial instruments and bookkeeping,” the opinion said. “Given the state of his vision, his advancing age and the lack of access to his partner in crime, his co-defendant daughter, who remains incarcerated, engaging with these instruments and intricate accounting will be difficult, if not impossible.

“Further, Lindell relied on his community connections and used the success of his legitimate business enterprise to prey on victims. Settling in another state, nearly 5,000 miles away, where he has neither those connections nor legitimate business renders the risk of him perpetrating similar crimes extraordinarily low.”

Court records indicated that Lindell planned to live in Florida with his wife and 8-year-old son.

Lindell, now 73, was released from prison Feb. 8, federal prison records show.

Hoaeae was sentenced to 10 years in prison after she was found guilty of eight mail fraud charges and two wire fraud charges.

Prison records show Hoaeae, 46, is set to be released in December 2023.