A federal grand jury indicted a 66-year-old Hawaii woman after prosecutors accused her of fraudulently making millions of dollars by selling foreign-grown coffee that was labeled and sold as “100% Kona.”
Patricia “Trish” Johnson was taken into custody Sept. 23. Johnson is accused of orchestrating fraud that spans from 2012 to 2024 and relied on multiple mainland green coffee traders, coffee shipping companies and Hawaii-based roasters.
Johnson pleaded not guilty on Oct. 2 in U.S. District Court in Honolulu on charges including 16 counts of wire fraud, five counts of illegal monetary transactions and three counts of obstruction of justice. She is awaiting trial, scheduled for December 2025, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said they will be seeking forfeiture of at least $5.26 million, according to court records.
An indictment signed by U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Kenneth Sorensen alleges Johnson was the sole owner and operator of a Kona-based coffee business called Kona Coffee Café from the 1990s through at least March 2024, selling bags of coffee from a strip-mall storefront, on Amazon and directly to consumers from her home.
Prosecutors accuse Johnson of making “materially false, fraudulent, and misleading representations by advertising, labeling, and selling coffee described as ‘100% Kona’ when in fact JOHNSON knew that the coffee was not 100% Kona coffee.”
We had plenty of what I believe was 100% Kona coffee when we visited the coffee plantation just outside of Kona last week. It was good, but given my forgiving tastebuds, not worth the premium paid for 100% Kona coffee. Your mileage may vary. The tourist shops sell both 100% Kona coffee, and much cheaper 10% Kona coffee (remainder foreign).
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Terrain Features Part II at the usual time and place.
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