Ex-Insurance Agent Sentenced in Hawaii

A former insurance agent doing business on Maui has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine for tax evasion.

Herbert Ushiroda Jr. of Honolulu pleaded guilty in December to evading income tax payments for 2006.

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday the 62-year-old admitted in court he filed false tax returns for 2003 through 2007, leading the federal government to lose more than $900,000 and the state to lose more than $200,000.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says Ushiroda began filing false tax returns because he needed more money to support his wife and two adult children; his elderly parents; and a separate family and residence on Maui resulting from an extramarital affair that began in 2003.