Oahu Man With Alias Empire Admits Guilt In $458K Covid Fraud Scheme

A 51-year-old Hawaii resident pleaded guilty Monday to eight counts of bank fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, admitting he used a web of fake names and shell companies to siphon hundreds of thousands of dollars from pandemic relief programs and unsuspecting online shoppers. Justin Craige Likout entered his plea in federal court in Honolulu, closing out a case built on identities like Jaycee Thorpe, John Pyzell, and JC Thorpe that he allegedly deployed to secure loans and dodge scrutiny.

According to Hawaii News Now, Likout was indicted in October 2025 on 24 counts tied to $458,597 in fraudulent COVID relief claims. Court documents cited by the outlet say he established businesses specifically to submit fake Paycheck Protection Program claims during pandemic shutdowns, and that he used the stolen identities of two people to secure business loans. He also allegedly pocketed payments for tables and other items listed under Facebook Marketplace identities such as Hoohui Ohana Millworks, Hale Me Ka Malama, Aina Akua, and Hale Malama — merchandise that buyers reportedly never received.

The indictment describes a man who cycled through at least nine aliases, including Jaycee Pyzell, Jon Pizel, and Justin Thorpe, to keep his schemes running under the radar. Likout now faces up to 50 years in prison, per the outlet's reporting, with sentencing scheduled for December 15, 2026.

A Trail of Shell Companies Dating to 2018

Federal prosecutors are separately seeking $458,597 in cash forfeiture from Likout, according to Hawaii Free Press, which reported that he incorporated Hawaii entities including No Ka Oi Tours Oahu, No Ka Oi Oahu, and Hale Me Ke Malama LLC as early as February 2018. Setting up those legitimate-looking businesses years before the pandemic allowed him to open commercial bank accounts that could later move fraudulent funds without raising immediate red flags, the outlet reported.

Federal officers arrested Likout in Hauula, Oahu, in October 2025, after subpoenaed bank records revealed an eight-year pattern of fraud that had already led to dozens of bank accounts being shut down by financial institutions, the same outlet reported. Those closures reportedly stemmed from suspicious loan applications and false documentation submitted under his various aliases.

Decades of Fraud Across Multiple States

Likout's record stretches back nearly three decades and spans several jurisdictions. Hawaii Free Press reported he has a 1997 escape conviction on Maui, 2011 credit card fraud convictions in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and outstanding felony theft warrants in both Washington state and Florida.

That Virgin Islands case has its own paper trail. The St. John Source reported in January 2006 that Likout was arrested in St. Thomas after allegedly transferring nearly $10,000 from a St. John restaurant where he worked as assistant manager, and racking up unpaid resort tabs using stolen credit card numbers. At the time, authorities said he was already wanted in Hawaii for a parole violation.

Why the Mandatory Minimum Could Be Steep

The aggravated identity theft charges Likout admitted to carry real weight beyond the underlying fraud counts. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A, federal aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence that must be served consecutively to any other term imposed for offenses like bank fraud or wire fraud, according to DCD Law. Federal judges have no discretion to run that time concurrently, which locks in a minimum stretch behind bars regardless of how the rest of the case is scored.

Statutory maximums stack up further on top of that mandatory minimum. Bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344 can bring up to 30 years and $1,000,000 in fines, while wire fraud affecting a financial institution under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 can carry up to 30 years as well, as Hoodline previously reported. Actual sentences typically fall well below those ceilings once advisory guidelines, loss amounts, and plea terms are factored in.

Pandemic Fraud Cases Still Surfacing Years Later

Likout's prosecution is part of why 2020-era loan applications keep resurfacing as federal cases years later. Congress passed the PPP and Bank Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act of 2022, extending the criminal statute of limitations for PPP and EIDL fraud from five years to ten, according to the U.S. House Committee on Small Business. That change means federal prosecutors can still pursue pandemic loan fraud cases through 2030.

Hawaii has seen its share of these prosecutions in recent months. In April, a federal judge in Honolulu sentenced Kauai resident Ethan Page to 14 months in prison and ordered $1.4 million in restitution after he diverted Restaurant Revitalization Fund money into a personal investment account, as Hoodline detailed in its report, Kauai Covid Cash Grab Lands Man 14 Months. Nationally, federal task forces have charged more than 3,000 defendants in pandemic relief fraud cases, securing a conviction rate exceeding 80 percent, according to the Spodek Law Group.

Likout is set to learn his fate on December 15, when Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson, the same judge who took his guilty plea, will hand down sentencing in the case.