Overview:
A former Palau Housing Authority employee has been sentenced to one year in prison and 10 years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to stealing money from PHA clients. Hilbert must also pay restitution, complete 200 hours of community service and undergo behavioral health screening and treatment.
By: L.N. Reklai
KOROR, Palau (Nov. 2, 2026) — Kukong Khalye Hilbert has been sentenced to one year in prison and 10 years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree theft for taking money from Palau Housing Authority clients.
Hilbert entered her guilty plea on Oct. 26. The two other theft counts filed against her were dismissed in exchange for the plea.
The sentencing order requires Hilbert to serve 12 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised probation. She also must complete 200 hours of community service, pay an $800 fine and undergo screening and treatment through the Division of Behavioral Health.
In addition, Hilbert must pay restitution to the victims in accordance with the terms of her plea agreement.
Her $1,000 cash bail will be applied toward restitution. She was also required to make an immediate $3,000 restitution payment following the sentencing hearing. The remaining balance will be paid at a rate of $100 every two weeks.
The sentencing order provides that if Hilbert pays the full restitution before completing her 12-month prison term, she may petition to serve the remainder of her sentence through the work-release program.
Hilbert was taken into custody on Nov. 1, 2026.
The case stems from allegations that Hilbert collected unauthorized payments totaling $7,281.98 from 19 PHA clients between Jan. 1, 2023, and March 30, 2025.
According to the original criminal complaint, Hilbert allegedly told clients the money was for housing-loan payments, home fire insurance, application fees and bidding fees. Investigators said she collected the payments directly from clients without authorization from PHA management.
The investigation began after PHA Executive Director Jovalyn L. Koshiba reported complaints to the Division of Criminal Investigation on March 27, 2025.
Court documents stated that PHA management confirmed Hilbert was not authorized to collect the payments and that the agency did not handle home fire-insurance payments for clients.
Investigators also alleged that Hilbert purchased a receipt book from West Office Supply and used it to issue receipts for some of the payments. PHA later determined that the receipts were not official agency receipts.
The alleged losses involved 19 clients, with individual payments ranging from smaller loan installments to larger amounts collected for insurance and housing-related payments.
Before her guilty plea, Hilbert faced four counts of second-degree theft. Each count involved property valued at more than $300, an offense classified as a Class C felony under Palau law and punishable by one to five years in prison and an optional fine of up to $10,000.
With the guilty plea to two counts and dismissal of the remaining charges, the case has resulted in a prison sentence, supervised probation, financial penalties and restitution obligations for the former PHA employee.