The Department of the Attorney General says the man claiming to be the state’s chief technology officer at national conferences and on online platforms is not affiliated with the state of Hawaii and is not authorized to represent any state agency.
According to a DAG news release, the department was recently alerted to an individual, Iqbal Khowaja, who falsely claimed that he was the “CTO of the State of Hawaii” at the Bitcoin 2026 Conference held April 27 to 29 at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
DAG states in the release that Khowaja has portrayed himself as Hawaii’s CTO at previous conferences and on social media profiles and that appropriate action is being taken to notify event organizers of the impersonator.
“We were alerted to this individual’s false claims and quickly took steps to verify the information and respond,” said Tom Alipio, chief of the Investigations Division in the Department of the Attorney General, in the release. “When someone falsely presents themselves as a government official, it raises serious concerns about fraud and public deception. Our priority is making sure the public is aware, takes appropriate caution and reports suspicious conduct before others are misled.”
Hawaii Chief Information Officer Christine Sakuda said, “This individual falsely claiming to be the state of Hawaii’s Chief Technology Officer has never been employed by the state or affiliated with the Office of Enterprise Technology Services. Misrepresentation of state leadership is...
The Department of the Attorney General says the man claiming to be the state’s chief technology officer at national conferences and on online platforms is not affiliated with the state of Hawaii a...