Felony charges related to campaign donations are a rarity in Hawaiʻi, although reforms passed in 2022 helped in bringing a new case.

Ala Moana developer Timothy Lee was indicted Friday on nine felony counts of illegally funneling money to Honolulu mayoral candidates in 2020, a rare instance when alleged campaign finance violations could result in prison time.

Lee, CEO of JL Capital, the investment firm behind the development of the Sky Ala Moana high-rise, was arrested Monday and released after posting $250,000 bail. He is to be arraigned on Feb. 18.

The details of Lee’s case harken back to an earlier era of campaign spending cases when felony charges were more common. In the early 2000s, dozens of executives at design and engineering firms were accused of laundering money to the campaigns of Hawaiʻi’s most prominent politicians. Many avoided any jail time and paid hefty fines instead.

In the last decade, all of the cases forwarded to prosecutors by the state Campaign Spending Commission, which oversees election money in Hawaiʻi, have either resulted in fines or no criminal charges being filed.

Lee faces up to five years of prison on each felony count.