Federal authorities say that they have shutdown one of the largest money laundering rings Hawaii has ever seen. According to papers filed on Thursday, the criminal enterprise laundered over $350 million in the past 5 years. However, it is not the amount of money that 40-year-old Alex Luahi processed that is garnering so much attention. It is the way he laundered the money, and the way he got caught that is grabbing headlines all the way to the mainland. According to prosecutors, Luahi was laundering money as the island’s largest SSHAM distributer.
Officials say the Luahi family have long ties to criminal organizations in Hawaii. Alex’s father served as a lieutenant in the famous Hawaiian crime syndicate known as The Company. For almost 30 years, The Company controlled virtually all criminal activity on the islands but was stopped in the 1990s. However, many escaped prosecution and some of the criminal elements that filled the void began their own enterprises, eventually becoming clients of Alex.
Authorities claim that Alex worked as a middleman for many years, holding stolen property and hiding vehicles in his warehouses before taking advantage of his job as a food distributor. They say everything began to change 5-years ago when Alex began to launder money for a number of organizations. At the same time Luahi began his criminal enterprise, his legitimate business was booming, making him the biggest SSHAM distributer in Hawaii. At any given time, Luahi warehouses held over a million cans of: SSHAM, SSHAM Less, and SSHAM Extra Spicy in inventory. However, Lauhi’s success, notoriety, and personal indulgences began to concern some of his clients.
Everyone on the island began to know Alex as the SSHAM Chief because of his lavish lifestyle, and his fleet of SSHAM styled cars. Insiders say Luahi would hold extravagant theme parties for friends and clients every weekend. Ice sculptured cans, SSHAM fountains, and grand buffets with the canned meat product served in every imaginable way, greeted guests and started rumors circulating.
It was said that Luahi’s office desk was covered in silver trays heaping with slices of pure SSHAM that had never seen the inside of a can, and that he was working on a dehydrated smokable version. Many other outlandish excesses were attributed to the SSHAM Chief as well. He made headlines last year when he donated all the SSHAM at SSHAM Fest from his personal stock. It was then that authorities began to take notice of Luahi’s operation, and his criminal customers started making their concerns known.
Things came to a head last month after 28-year-old Rodger Hihio crashed a truck containing 24 tons of artisanal SSHAM and damaged much of the load. For many foodies and SSHAM aficionados summer means one thing, the release of the First Pressing Reserve, the finest SSHAM of the year. Many wait all year to stock-up on the seasonal delicacy. It is not unusual for stores to sell out within hours. With the crash destroying around 10% of the total supply, the price began to soar. When Luahi announced he was personally keeping another 10% of the supply as an investment, the ensuing publicity was the last straw.
According to papers filed on Thursday, Alex’s frightened brother Craig came to the feds looking for help and protection. A quality control manager at the SSHAM factory in Lahaina, Craig claimed to have limited knowledge about the business itself, but admitted falsifying manifests and records. He told authorities that he and his family had been threatened and he feared that his brother’s life was in danger saying that, “All that salty-spicy-shrimped goodness has gone to his head. He can’t see past all the empty First Press Select cans anymore. He’s put himself and his family in danger over crazy parties and canned meat.”
The Treasury Department’s Office of Investigations (OIG) and other federal authorities say the arrests this morning are just the beginning of an ongoing 6 month investigation, and that more are coming. The self proclaimed SSHAM Chief Alex Luahi is facing 36 counts of money laundering and fraud. He is expected to enter a plea sometime early next week.
