Judge Sentences Former Giradi Keese CFO Christoper Kamon to 10 Years
United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton on April 11 sentenced former Girardi Keese LLP CFO Christopher Kazuo Kamon, 51, to 121 months in federal prison for “enabling the embezzlement of millions of dollars from the firm’s injured clients and for embezzling money” from the now-defunct Los Angeles law firm. Staton also ordered Kamon to pay $8.9 million in restitution. In October 2024, Kamon pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. According to United States Attorney Bill Essayli, Kamon had enabled the firm’s namesake Tom Girardi to “defraud vulnerable clients” for nearly two decades, noting the irony that “it was Kamon’s own lies that accelerated the law firm’s demise.” Girardi was convicted of four counts of wire fraud in 2024 but to date has not been sentenced. Along with Girardi’s son-in-law, David R. Lira — himself a a former Girardi Keese attorney — Girardi and Kamon also face federal charges in Chicago for defrauding survivors of plane crash victims. The trial date is set for July 14.
Yokoyama to Serve as Cerritos, Calif., Mayor, Lead All-Asi-Am City Council
The Cerritos, Calif., City Council selected Frank Aurelio Yokoyama to serve as mayor. Serving as mayor pro tem will be Lynda Johnson. New councilmembers installed at the March 26 special meeting were Mark Pulido, Jennifer Hong, and Sophia Tse. In his comments, Yokoyama noted that it was the city’s first all-Asian American city council and its first majority female city council. The Asian American theme continued as State Attorney General Rob Bonta administered the oath of office for Pulido, San Gabriel Mayor John Wu did the same for Hong and ABC Unified School District School Board President Ernie Nishii and Deputy Superintendent/CFO Toan Nguyen conducted the ceremony for Tse.
Arakawa, Hackman Buried 2 Months After Being Found Dead in N.M.
The remains of the married couple, which had been unclaimed for several weeks following the discovery of their corpses in late February, were laid to rest last weekend with actor Gene Hackman’s adult children in attendance, according to published reports. Hackman, 95, and pianist Betsy Arakawa, 65, who died days apart in their Santa Fe, N.M., home, were discovered by a contractor Feb. 26. It is now believed that Arakawa died first, around Feb. 12, of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, with the Oscar-winning Hackman, who was described as having “advanced” Alzheimer’s disease, likely having died on Feb. 18 of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
AAcomp, VMCA Mark JA Vietnam War Vet Milestone at Tanaka Farms
On the occasion of the Library of Congress having accepted the nonprofit Asian American Community Media Project’s 104th video submission for its Veterans History Project, AAcomp and the Veterans Memorial Court Alliance — the nonprofit behind Little Tokyo’s Japanese American National War Memorial Court — jointly held a celebratory luncheon March 29 at Tanaka Farms in Irvine, Calif. AAcomp, in conjunction with the Japanese American Vietnam Era Archives, recently began recording oral histories of Japanese American military veterans who served during the Vietnam War and contributing them to the Veterans History Project. (See Pacific Citizen, Nov. 1, 2024). Seventy-five vets whose interviews were recorded were in attendance. In addition to a screening of filmmaker David Brodie’s documentary “The Volunteer” (See Pacific Citizen, Nov. 15, 2024), attendees viewed a congratulatory message from Monica Mohinra, director of the Veterans History Project. Attending veterans each received a custom-designed challenge coin and a personalized flash drive containing their complete interview.
JANM Announces 2025 Toshizo Watanabe Democracy Fellowship Recipients
Takashi Ishimori, Misako Kono, Sato Sekimoto, Risa Shibata, Daisuke Shirakawa, Hiromi Shirakura, Ayumi Wajima, and Chihiro Yago are this year’s winners of the fellowship, a yearlong professional development program designed for emerging leaders from Japan across sectors. The fellowship’s goals are to advance global democracy, strengthen ties between the U.S. and Japan by promoting democratic values and foster understanding and cooperation between the two nations.
Loyola Marymount Names Dr. Thomas Poon as Its 17th University President
LMU’s board of trustees has announced that Thomas Poon, Ph.D., will succeed Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., in the role on June 1.
— P.C. Staff
