A Hawaii man who defrauded an elderly Orange County resident out of nearly $2 million, leaving him homeless, was sentenced Wednesday, Jan. 28, to four years in federal prison.
John Tamahere McCabe, 42, swindled the money by falsely promising to sell the 79-year-old victim’s yacht for him and by taking out unauthorized loans against his Irvine condominium.
Along with his time in federal prison, McCabe was also ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution — the amount he was accused of stealing — during the sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana.
As part of the swindle, McCabe promised to transfer the proceeds from the sale of the yacht to the victim, who according to court filings was a widower who had no family support.
The victim was unaware that McCabe used fabricated documents to transfer the ownership of the yacht to his name. Once it was sold, McCabe diverted the proceeds into his bank account and spent most of the money on himself.
The 2017 44-foot-long Tiara yacht had been docked in Newport Beach. The selling price was unclear.
McCabe also persuaded the victim to transfer ownership of his million-dollar Irvine residence into a limited liability company that McCabe controlled. He explained that would protect the victim’s most-valuable asset and provide tax benefits, prosecutors said.
But, without the victim’s knowledge, McCabe set himself up as the sole manager of the LLC and took out $1 million in loans secured by the residence, draining the condo of its equity.
After spending most of the proceeds of the loan tied to the condo, McCabe defaulted on the loans and the residence was sold at a foreclosure sale.
McCabe’s attorneys noted that he has taken full responsibility, has expressed “genuine remorse” and has already paid $150,000 toward restitution even before ordered to do so by the court.
McCabe worked as a flight attendant prior to his arrest, and along with his longtime girlfriend trains service dogs to assist those in need, according to a sentencing brief, and volunteered extensively in the aftermath of the 2023 Maui fires.
According to the defense, McCabe, in a statement to a probation officer, said, “I admit that I am truly guilty and feel very sorry for the damage I caused the victim. I know that the (residential) property was ultimately sold at a foreclosure sale, leaving (the victim) homeless.
“I feel horrible and guilty about how this turned out,” he said. “I really like (the victim) and take full responsibility for my actions. I will and want to do everything in my power to pay (the victim) back everything he has lost.”