HONOLULU – A US District Court in Honolulu, Hawaii sentenced a Filipino to 30 years in prison after he was convicted three months ago of stealing the identity and assets of his businessman friend who found dead in the Philippines last year, ABS-CBN reported. Henry Calucag Jr. alias Hank Jacinto sat quietly when the judge sentenced him early this month.

Calucag was convicted in June of stealing the identity and assets of his friend, Kauai businessman John Elwin. “Thirty years for identity theft and credit card fraud is a substantial sentence and I think the sentence sends a strong message of deterrence to others who would contemplate committing identity theft or document fraud scams in the state of Hawaii," said deputy prosecutor Chris Van Marter. It was an enhanced sentence for the 58-year-old Filipino who was convicted of eight felony counts of credit card and computer fraud, forgery and identity theft. Calucag was also named suspect in Elwin's death in the Philippines last year. Defense lawyer Mark Kawata maintained that Calucag is not charged with the killing of Elwin, adding that he is appealing the conviction. “There is no evidence that Mr. Calucag had anything to do with the cause of death of Mr. Elwin or anyone else,” said the lawyer.