HONOLULU (KHON2) — Former University of Hawaii basketball star and ex-Waiakea High School coach Justin Alika Smith has been charged with second-degree theft and check fraud for allegedly embezzling money from team parents.
Court records state that Smith used a third-party to arrange lodging for a boysʻ basketball trip, for which he collected $3,627 from parents. Rather than handing that to the company, court records state, he kept the money for himself and paid the company only $500 with the remainder paid by check–which was eventually returned unpaid. Smith allegedly never paid the company the remaining balance.
“The people of Hawaii expect their public servants to act with honesty and integrity. When a public servant steals, the people’s faith in government is undermined,” said Acting Attorney General Matthew Dvonch, who is serving in that capacity while Attorney General Anne Lopez is out of state. “The Department of the Attorney General will prosecute all those who abuse their positions of trust.”
Smith, who was Waiakea’s coach from November 2021 to November 2022, also coached at his alma mater, Kalaheo, where he won three state championships in five seasons before resigning in 2015 due to philosophical differences.
Smith is well-regarded for his role as one half of the “Dynamic Duo” at the University of Hawaii with Anthony Carter in the late 1990s and ended his career as the program’s third-leading scorer with over 1,400 points.
He faces second-degree theft, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, as well as check fraud, a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $2,000 fine.
Theft in the Second Degree is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine not exceeding $10,000. Negotiating a worthless negotiable instrument is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine.
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Smith appeared in court Friday without an attorney, posted $25,000 bail, and was instructed by the judge to contact the public defender’s office before his next court appearance scheduled for September 11.
He will apologize the court will give him a slap on the wrist all because he was a decent High School and College player. Definitely not a role model for the kids if Hawaii to look up to.
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