County Housing Official Sentenced for His Role in Multimillion-Dollar Scheme to Receive Bribes from Hawaii Businessman and Attorneys

HONOLULU - A former Hawaii County official, Alan Scott Rudo, 59, now of Cathedral City, California, was sentenced yesterday to 46 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to receive bribes in exchange for his official actions as a Housing Specialist at the Hawaii County Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD). The scheme involved affordable housing development agreements worth more than $11 million.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Paul Joseph Sulla, 79, of Hilo, Hawaii, and Gary Charles Zamber, 56, of Keaau, Hawaii, both attorneys living on the Big Island, and Rajesh Pankaj Budhabhatti, 65, now of Morro Bay, California, a private businessman on the Big Island, conspired to pay bribes and kickbacks to Rudo in exchange for Rudo's agreement to use his official position to ensure the County approved three affordable housing agreements (AHAs) benefitting the defendants' development companies, Luna Loa Developments LLC, West View Developments LLC and Plumeria at Waikoloa LLC. Although Rudo's co-conspirators promised in the AHAs to build affordable housing for the citizens of Hawaii County, their development companies never built a single unit. Through the AHAs, the defendants fraudulently obtained more than $11 million worth of land and excess affordable housing credits (AHCs). From that amount, Sulla, Zamber, and Budhabhatti paid or attempted to pay Rudo approximately $1,931,778 in bribes and kickbacks.

Zamber, Budhabhatti, and Sulla were charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and nine counts of honest services wire fraud. Sulla was also charged with money laundering. Rudo, who was charged separately with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, pleaded guilty and testified at the trial of his co-conspirators. On June 4, 2025, a federal jury in the District of Hawaii convicted Sulla, Zamber, and Budhabhatti on all counts in a superseding indictment.

Earlier this year, the court sentenced Rudo's co-conspirators in the bribery scheme. Zamber was sentenced to 70 months in prison on January 30; Budhabhatti was sentenced to 90 months in prison on February 6; and Sulla was sentenced to 60 months in prison on April 23. Zamber's and Sulla's law licenses are currently suspended, prohibiting them from practicing law in Hawaii.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson for the District of Hawaii, and Special Agent in Charge David K. Porter of the FBI Honolulu Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mohammad Khatib and Margaret Nammar and Trial Attorney William J. Gullotta of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case.