Kaushal Niroula and The Gay Grifters

In June 2006, Kaushal Niroula escaped from the New College media circus by taking a trip to Hawaii. The vacation turned out to be about business as much as pleasure. He rented a condo next to that of a middle-aged business woman from Japan, Megumi Hisamatsu.

Niroula once again spun his story, telling her he was part of the Nepalese royal family, the son of a diplomat. It didn't take the canny young man long to convince Hisamatsu to go in on a real estate deal with the international company that he purportedly headed. Niroula seems to have lured her in with the promise of helping her obtain a visa. She put half a million dollars into new accounts at the Bank of Hawaii. Niroula allegedly stole blank checks for the account and started siphoning off the money. When Hisamatsu noticed the missing funds, he told her he needed the money to save his beleagured family, still threatened by their Marxist enemies. In a bold ploy, he reportedly continued to withdraw money and even convinced her that he could only return the $500,000 if she just gave him a few thousand more first.

Hisamatsu eventually sued Niroula and the Bank of Hawaii for the $508,000 she says Niroula stole, plus $2.5 million each in damages. The bank has asked a judge to dismiss the suit, which is still unresolved.

Hisamatsu's attorney, Steven Shaw, has called Niroula "evil", and compared him to a supernatural being. Niroula would seem at least to have an ungodly gift for duping the wealthy—and worse.