HONOLULU (KHON2) — A husband and wife who ran a Hawai‘i-based business were sentenced for scamming investors out of $29 million over more than 10 years, said the Department of Justice.
Curtiss E. Jackson, 72, and Jamey Denise Jackson, 62, were CEO and president of Semisub Inc. The company was based in Honolulu and marketed a prototype vessel called Semisub One, the DOJ reported.
The DOJ handed down the following sentences: Curtiss Jackson was sentenced to 13 years in prison, and Jamey Denise Jackson received two years.
Court records show they told investors Semisub One would be ready for launch in “weeks” or “months.” They also claimed to have agreements with government agencies and a private investment firm. These claims were found to be false by the DOJ’s years-long investigation.
Instead of building vessels, the DOJ said they used the money to pay for luxury homes in Hawai‘i and California, a Mercedes-Benz, vacations, marijuana and psychics.
During the investigation, the DOJ found that Curtiss Jackson sent Jamey Denise Jackson a link to an online video titled “Death of FBI Informants.” The video included violent scenes from the TV show The Sopranos.
He also tried to flee Hawai‘i on the Semisub One the day before a bond hearing. The vessel was under criminal forfeiture at the time.
Curtiss Jackson was found guilty in May 2024 of securities fraud, conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, witness tampering and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Jamey Denise Jackson pleaded guilty in January 2023 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation.
“Justice was served for the hundreds of victims who were deceived over many years,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson.
On Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, the U.S. Marshal Service and the U.S. Coast Guard said they captured Jackson attempting to flee from O’ahu on a fully fueled boat that was stocked with cash and provisions for a long sea voyage after being tipped off by Pretrial Services, a federal agency that supervises federal pretrial release defendants.
KHON2.com reached out Semisub for comment and will update this story.