Kanani Limahai (Ashley Wong's mother) and Shelly Miguel (Johnathan Fraser's mother) share an emotional moment following Michael J. Miske's conviction for murder and racketeering. (Keya Rivera/Courthouse News Service)
Daughter-in-law in Hawaii crime syndicate sentenced to 7 years
Delia Fabro-Miske — whose father-in-law Mike Miske died awaiting sentencing for murder and other convictions — is one of the latest members of the so-called Miske Enterprise to plead guilty in the sprawling racketeering case.
by Jeremy Yurow, Court House News, April 17, 2025
HONOLULU (CN) — The daughter-in-law of Hawaii businessman Michael Miske Jr. was sentenced to seven years in federal prison Wednesday for her role in the sprawling criminal enterprise Miske was found guilty of running before he died in prison, leading a judge to vacate his conviction.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson handed down the sentence to Delia Fabro-Miske — who was married to Miske's late son, Caleb — after her January 2024 guilty plea to a single charge of racketeering conspiracy.
The sentencing marks another chapter in the federal government's dismantling of what prosecutors call the "Miske Enterprise," a criminal organization they say operated in Hawaii from the late 1990s through 2020 under Miske's leadership. During Miske's trial, prosecutors argued the enterprise engaged in murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, chemical weapons attacks and various financial crimes.
In a brief, tearful statement to a court gallery packed with friends and family, Fabro-Miske expressed remorse for her actions.
"As much as I wish I could reverse the decisions I made, I can't change who I was back then" she said. "I should never let fear from someone else dictate my decision making and make me feel isolated from my family."
She appeared for sentencing at the federal courthouse in Honolulu accompanied by her defense attorneys, who had argued that their client was under the control of her powerful father-in-law.
"She wasn't running a multi-million dollar organization. She wasn't the property owner," defense attorney Marcia Morrissey told the court. "She did what he told her to do because she wasn't equipped to — maybe the judge sees — she was a high school graduate, no training in business."
Watson overruled the defense's objections about her supposed involvement in the 2016 kidnapping and murder of Jonathan Fraser, in what prosecutors say was retaliation by Miske for his son's death in a car crash.
"There were several acts by Ms. Fabro-Miske that cumulatively leave no doubt in my mind that she knew what her acts were contributing to when she did them — that is, Mr. Fraser's kidnapping and his ultimate murder," Watson said during Wednesday's hearing.
Watson rejected arguments that Fabro-Miske was unaware of her role in Fraser's disappearance, pointing to specific actions she took, including convincing Fraser and his girlfriend Ashley Wong to become roommates in an apartment paid for by Mike Miske.
"What followed was this: in the Hawaii Kai apartment that Ms. Fabro-Miske shared for a very short period of time with Mr. Fraser and Ms. Wong, Ms. Fabro disconnected the Time Warner router that was the only way for Mr. Fraser and Ms. Wong to use one of the cellular phones they possessed to communicate," Watson said.
The judge also cited how Fabro-Miske arranged an expensive spa day for herself and Wong on the day Fraser disappeared, and then quickly evicted Wong from the apartment under false pretenses.
"While any one of these actions might be explained away with innocent and other reasons, together they paint a strong and clear picture of a conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping in aid of the very same racketeering enterprise that Ms. Fabro-Miske admitted she was a member of," Watson said.
Fabro-Miske's father-in-law was convicted on July 18, 2024, of racketeering conspiracy, murder, and 11 other felony charges, but found dead in his cell in December, reportedly from a fentanyl overdose. His conviction was vacated in February. Miske had been scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 30 and faced a mandatory life sentence.
Prosecutors painted a picture of the Miske Enterprise operating primarily through Kamaaina Termite and Pest Control Inc. and other companies that served as fronts for criminal activities. According to the government, the organization used intimidation, violence and threats to maintain power and generate income through extortion, fraud, tax evasion and drug trafficking.
In addition to the prison term, Watson ordered Fabro-Miske to pay $49,998 in restitution and serve three additional years of supervised release. The judge granted her request to remain free on bail until May 28, when she must surrender to a designated federal facility.
Fabro-Miske was initially charged in July 2021. In her written plea agreement, she admitted to being a member or associate of the Miske Enterprise from at least 2016 until June 2020. During that time, she agreed to take part in activities involving bank fraud, wire fraud and obstruction of justice.
The investigation into the Miske Enterprise has resulted in multiple guilty pleas from co-defendants, including Harry Kauhi, John Stancil, Jason Yokoyama, Dae Han Moon, Preston Kimoto and Jarrin Young, among others who were named in the racketeering conspiracy charge alongside Fabro-Miske.
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Miske Enterprise Member Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy and Role in Kidnapping and Murder of Johnathan Fraser
News Release, U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Hawaii, Thursday, April 17, 2025
HONOLULU – Acting United States Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson announced that Delia Fabro-Miske, 30, of Honolulu, was sentenced yesterday in federal court by U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release for racketeering conspiracy. Fabro-Miske pled guilty on January 12, 2024, in the middle of jury selection, to conspiring to conduct and participate in the conduct of the affairs of a racketeering enterprise, the “Miske Enterprise,” through racketeering activity that included bank fraud, obstruction of justice, and wire fraud.
Fabro-Miske admitted that she and codefendant Michael J. Miske committed bank fraud by submitting fraudulent paperwork in order to obtain leases for two vehicles that were used for one of Miske’s businesses. Fabro-Miske also obstructed a joint investigation into another of Miske’s businesses, Kamaaina Termite and Pest Control (“KTPC”), which was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (“HDA”). At Miske’s direction, Fabro-Miske submitted to HDA falsified fumigation logs, which claimed that she was the certified applicator of chemicals on hundreds of jobs. In reality, most of the listed jobs were completed by unlicensed applicators. Fabro-Miske also fraudulently obtained Social Security Administration (“SSA”) survivor benefits at Miske’s direction by having her wages at KTPC decreased below the SSA benefits income threshold. At the same time, Miske paid Fabro-Miske in benefits that were not reported to the SSA or Internal Revenue Service.
Additionally, according to information provided to the Court, in or about 2017, Miske placed Fabro-Miske in charge of his businesses in an attempt to preserve and conceal his assets in anticipation of federal prosecution. In practice, Fabro-Miske carried out Miske’s wishes and acted at his direction. Fabro-Miske assisted in a fraudulent scheme committed through Miske’s businesses, which involved submitting false filings to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs that permitted the businesses to operate under fraudulently obtained and maintained licenses. Miske Enterprise members then falsely represented to customers that Miske’s businesses were properly licensed. Between 2017 and 2020, the businesses generated millions of dollars in income annually. As the head of Miske’s businesses, Fabro-Miske was also responsible for the proper and safe application of pesticides and other chemicals at customers’ homes. Information provided to the Court, however, showed that fumigations were regularly conducted without proper supervision or chemicals. Chief Judge Watson stated that Fabro-Miske’s work at Miske’s businesses “funded any number of crimes that we heard months and months of testimony” about in Miske’s trial, and her assistance “allowed Mr. Miske to run rampant in this community.”
Finally, the Court determined that Fabro-Miske was also responsible for participating in a conspiracy with other Miske Enterprise members to kidnap and murder 21-year-old Johnathan Fraser. According to information provided to the Court, Caleb Miske – Miske’s son and Fabro-Miske’s husband – and Fraser were driving together when the two were involved in a car crash in November 2015. Caleb Miske ultimately passed away from his injuries, and Miske blamed Fraser for his son’s death and enlisted several Miske Enterprise members to assist in his plan to murder Fraser. As part of that plan, Miske directed Fabro-Miske to rekindle her friendship with Fraser and his girlfriend and to lure them into living with her at an apartment paid for by Miske. On July 30, 2016, Fabro-Miske took Fraser’s girlfriend on a “spa day” paid for by Miske, ensuring that Fraser would be isolated when he was kidnapped. Fraser was never seen again after that day. Due to Miske’s death in December 2024, Chief Judge Watson explained that “the person most involved in Mr. Fraser’s demise will not ever be sentenced by this Court.” While Chief Judge Watson found that Fabro-Miske did not “directly and personally kill” Fraser and determined her to be a minimal participant in the kidnapping and murder conspiracy, he noted that there was “no doubt” that her actions led to Fraser’s murder and that the circumstances painted a “strong and clear picture” of a conspiracy to commit kidnapping murder in aid of racketeering.
Fabro-Miske was charged alongside twelve other defendants, all of whom pled guilty except for Miske, who proceeded to trial and was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, murder, and 11 other felony charges on July 18, 2024. Seven other members and associates of the Miske Enterprise pled guilty to various offenses in related cases.
“Delia Fabro-Miske was an integral member of the Miske Enterprise, which terrorized, exploited, and defrauded our community for decades. She participated in Miske’s bank frauds, social security fraud, falsification of fumigation records, and the concealment of Miske’s illegally obtained assets, and was a vital cog in the plot to murder of Johnathan Fraser. Fabro-Miske’s sentence yesterday demonstrates that those who occupy even the lower rungs of Hawaii’s criminal enterprises will pay a steep price when they face justice in federal court,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson. “The dismantling of the Miske Enterprise represents one of the most significant law enforcement efforts in the history of Hawaii law enforcement, and it would not have been possible without the tremendous and dedicated work of our partners at the Honolulu Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and Environmental Protection Agency, among many others.”
“Ms. Fabro-Miske was a key member in the Miske Enterprise fraud schemes, actively participating in defrauding the government and taxpayers,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. “This sentencing reflects years of collaboration between FBI Honolulu and our law enforcement partners. The FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to dismantle violent criminal enterprises, hold their members accountable, and pursue justice for victims.”
“Our investigators follow the money because criminal organizations profit at the expense of public safety,” said Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office. “Ms. Fabro-Miske’s racketeering conviction is a reminder that, in the end, crime really doesn’t pay.”
“The sentencing of Ms. Fabro-Miske underscores HSI’s commitment to disrupting and dismantling criminal organizations in Hawaii,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cabral-DeArmas. “HSI will continue to hold accountable those who significantly harm our communities by breaking federal laws. By bringing justice to the Miske Enterprise, HSI sends the message that we will not tolerate any violent activity on our islands.”
“By falsifying documents, defendant obstructed EPA and the state’s criminal investigation of a pesticide applicator that illegally applied restricted use pesticides,” said Benjamin Carr, Special Agent in Charge for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division in Hawaii. “Yesterday’s sentencing reflects the seriousness of defendant’s fraudulent conduct and the importance of complying with pesticide reporting requirements so EPA and Hawaii Department of Agriculture can keep our communities safe.”
This prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligencedriven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Honolulu Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the Cybercrime Lab of the Department of Justice Criminal Division Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, the Honolulu Fire Department, the Hawaii National Guard, 93rd Civil Support Team, the Office of Investigations–Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Inciong, Michael Nammar, KeAupuni Akina, and Aislinn Affinito prosecuted the case.
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