September 7, 06

NEWS / Missing resident possible ID theft victim

Missing resident possible ID theft victim


Roughly four months after Kaua???i resident John Elwin was reported missing, Honolulu resident Henry Calucag will appear in Honolulu District court today to face felony charges related to using the missing man???„?s identity.

Calucag, 57, faces first-degree theft and second-degree forgery and will appear in a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m.

Calucag, also known as Hank Jacinto, was the last person to see Elwin when the two were in the Philippines in the summer, according to court documents. Land belonging to Elwin was transferred into Calucag???„?s name, court documents state, and Elwin???„?s credit cards had been in use after the time that Elwin was reported missing.

Elwin???„?s girlfriend, Kirsten Flood, along with friend Luis Soltren and Elwin???„?s brother, Christopher, reported Elwin missing to the Kaua???i Police Department after Elwin???„?s daughter didn???„?t receive a phone call on her birthday. The missing person report was filed on June 16, Claire Ueno, a counselor for KPD, said.

Soltren and Christopher Elwin declined to comment because the investigation is ongoing, noting they do not want to interfere with police work.

Elwin and Calucag entered into a business transaction on April 11, when they transferred the title of a 2001 Land Rover in the presence of a notary at a Bank of Hawaii, court documents state. Also stated is that a piece of Kaua???i property that Elwin bought to build a home for his daughter also was transferred into Calucag???„?s name with a notary seal. However, when the notary was contacted, she told officials her seal was for the Land Rover sale, not the property.

Supervising Deputy Attorney General Christopher Young said no system is in place yet in Hawai???i to track identity theft cases, but a task force was created last year to look into ways to do so.

Nationally, fraud-related consumer losses added up to $547 million last year.

John Elwin lived on Kaua???i for more than 30 years and did a lot for Kaua???i and its people, Soltren said.

Anyone with any information related to the case is asked to call the Kaua???i Police Department, 241-1711.


by Amanda C. Gregg - The Garden Island
Posted: Thursday, Sep 07, 2006 - 11:36:53 pm HST

Tags: document, notary,