Officer Honored By Kona Crime Prevention Committee for Helping Scam Victim Recover $60,000 in Life Savings

Kona Patrol Officer Eli-Dominic Cayetano was recently honored as Officer of the Month for October 2026 by the Kona Crime Prevention Committee (KCPC) in recognition for his compassion and investigative work that helped an elderly woman recover $60,000 in life savings after she fell victim to a phone scam.

On Nov. 19, 2025, Officer Cayetano responded to a report of a scam in which a woman had been deceived by a caller posing as a federal officer. The caller falsely told the woman she was under investigation for money laundering and trafficking and instructed her to withdraw her savings and mail the cash to designated addresses to avoid criminal charges.

Fearing the consequences described by the caller, the victim followed the instructions, withdrew $60,000 from her bank and mailed the money through UPS. After contacting police dispatch to confirm she had been cleared of wrongdoing, she learned she had been scammed.

When Officer Cayetano met with the victim, he recognized that she was frightened and distressed. Speaking with her in Ilocano, a Filipino language, he was able to reassure her and establish a connection that helped put her at ease.

Knowing that time was of the essence, Officer Cayetano obtained the package’s tracking information and determined it had reached Oahu and was awaiting transfer to the mainland. He contacted UPS and worked with its staff to arrange for the package to be returned to the UPS store in Kona. The victim was able to retrieve the package and recovered all $60,000.

Officer Cayetano’s actions demonstrated the importance of combining investigative skills with compassion and a sense of urgency, particularly when assisting vulnerable members of the community. His persistence and ability to build trust with the victim helped turn a potentially devastating financial loss into a successful recovery.

Every month the KCPC honors a police officer in west Hawai‘i as their Officer of the Month. Officers are nominated by their supervisors from the various police districts and a winner is selected by the KCPC board of directors. All officers selected for Officer of the Month are eligible to be selected as KCPC’s Officer of the Year.

This marks the seventh time Officer Cayetano has been named the KCPC Officer of the Month. He was most recently named Officer of the Month in May 2026 and was also named KCPC’s 2026 Officer of the Year in September.