A former state lawmaker abruptly retired as director of the Department of Human Services on Tuesday after being questioned by state investigators about
allegations of public corruption involving Hawaii’s COVID-19 testing contracts.
Gov. Josh Green told Ryan Yamane to step down after Yamane was questioned by the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division, multiple sources
told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Yamane’s ouster came less than a month after Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke took an
indefinite leave of absence without pay and quit her reelection campaign after receiving a target letter from the Attorney General’s office as part of the same
investigation.
Without mentioning the state investigation, Green’s spokesperson Makana
McClellan told the Star-Advertiser in a statement that Yamane announced his retirement Tuesday “effective immediately.”
“We thank him for his 22-plus years of service to his constituents as a legislator and to our residents who rely on DHS services,”
McClellan said. “Ryan will be succeeded by current Deputy Director Joseph H. Campos II, who will serve as acting director.”
Yamane, who has retained an attorney, did not reply to Star-Advertiser requests seeking comment. As a state representative, Yamane chaired the House Committee on Health and introduced HB 2392 HD1 SD1 to make “an emergency appropriation for coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic mitigation, including vaccination response activities,” according to state records.
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In a letter to DHS staff Tuesday, Yamane said that after much “reflection and with heartfelt gratitude,” he is retiring. Yamane did not mention that he was questioned as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
“Serving as Director has been one of the greatest honors of my professional career. I am deeply grateful for the dedication, compassion, and professionalism each of you brings to our
department every day. Together, we have worked to support our keiki and the most vulnerable in our community to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve,” wrote
Yamane, who thanked his staff members. “The
accomplishments we achieved were only possible because of your hard work and unwavering dedication. Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to serve alongside you. I wish you all continued success, fulfillment, and happiness both professionally and
personally.”
Green named Yamane as director on March 8, 2024, when he was working as the deputy director of the Department of Human Resources Development. Yamane served as a state representative for nearly two decades, from 2004 to 2023. He chaired various committees including Health, Human Services and Homelessness, according to the news release announcing his DHS appointment.
Attorney General Anne Lopez declined a Star-Advertiser request for an interview Tuesday. Officials also declined to say how many people have been questioned as part of the corruption investigation or if a grand jury has been
convened.
In a statement to the Star-Advertiser, Lopez’s spokesperson Toni Schwartz said because this remains an active criminal investigation, the Department of the Attorney
General “cannot confirm or deny specific investigative steps including who may have been interviewed, contacted, subpoenaed or otherwise notified.”
“Those details go directly to the scope and direction of the investigation, and we are not going to release information that could compromise the process or affect the rights of any individuals involved,” Schwartz said. “The Department remains committed to providing public information when it is
appropriate to do so.”
Yamane is at least the fourth person to receive a target letter as part of the ongoing investigation, which includes more than 18 interviews and reviews of thousands of pages of documents. Luke’s lawyer did not reply to Star-Advertiser requests for comment.
In addition to Yamane,
Attorney General’s office investigators emailed target letters to Luke, a lobbyist whom she dined with on Jan. 20, 2022, and a volunteer with her 2022 campaign for lieutenant governor. Luke, businessman and lobbyist Tobi J. Solidum, 66, and one of Luke’s volunteer campaign treasurers, Leo Asuncion Jr., were notified by Lopez that state investigators have found evidence supporting possible bribery charges.
Solidum is a target of a separate federal investigation for his role in an alleged $7 million COVID-19 funding fraud. He reportedly fled to the Philippines.
On Jan. 16, the U.S. Department of Justice gave
Lopez “evidence concerning an alleged incident involving an unnamed ‘influential state legislator’ who is alleged to have accepted approximately $35,000 in funds,” according to a news release from Lopez’s office.
Four days later, Lopez announced an investigation into an “influential state legislator,” who allegedly agreed to accept $35,000 in campaign contributions at a 2022 dinner.
The dinner occurred on Jan. 20, 2002, and allegedly included Luke, ex-state Rep. Ty J. K. Cullen, Solidum and Solidum’s daughter Kristen Pae.
Luke’s attorney, former Hawaii Attorney General David M. Louie, told Lopez that Luke and her campaign
retained him as their attorney on Feb. 5, four days
before Luke told the Star-Advertiser and other media that she may be the “influential state legislator” recorded by the FBI allegedly discussing $35,000 in
campaign contributions.
The evidence driving the state investigation came from the long-running federal probe that included evidence gathered from the 2022 dinner, which was recorded by Cullen who was working as an FBI informant.
Solidum owned and operated Geopolicy Development Group LLC, the only Hawaii-based shareholder of Capture Diagnostics, an Ohio-based company contracted to handle 10,000 to 15,000 COVID-19 tests a day in Hawaii during the pandemic. Capture Diagnostics filed for bankruptcy in federal court in 2025.
Capture Diagnostics alleges in court documents that Solidum’s company owes it $7 million.
Solidum worked as a lobbyist for the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii starting in 2015 and was working for it during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020.
Capture Diagnostics’ first major contract in Hawaii in 2020 was with the foundation and Synergy Med Global Design Solutions to provide a mobile COVID-19 laboratory for the City and County of Honolulu at the airport for $166 a test, according to a court filing.
Solidum’s Geopolicy
Development Group
performed “contractual work” in Hawaii for Capture Diagnostics between 2021 and 2023, according to court records.
Honolulu contracted
directly with NKFH to manage and operate the mobile COVID testing lab and the foundation, in turn, subcontracted with Synergy for the mobile lab and supplies.
The Kidney Foundation entered into a separate contract with the state to provide a full COVID-19 testing program that could “deliver same-day results” and then contracted with Capture
Diagnostics to provide the diagnostic laboratory and to “expand its licensure” to include a network of pharmacies that would enable the kidney foundation to “deliver on the terms of the State contract,” according to state court records.
To “sufficiently manage and operate the various COVID programs,” the Kidney Foundation hired Solidum’s company, Geopolicy Development Group, the
records say.
Capture Diagnostics received $65,978,340 in 2022 and $28,825,576 in 2023
from the NKFH for the COVID-19 testing work, according to federal tax records, for a total of more than $133 million.