A New Zealand court has issued an immediate warrant to arrest ‘Ofa Siasau after she failed to appear at a Financial Assessment Hearing on 17 February 2026.
The civil case, brought by creditor Pita Hingano, concerns an unpaid judgment debt totalling $26,491, with no payments recorded to date.
It follows Kaniva News’ report last year that an Auckland tribunal ordered Siasau to repay Hingano $26,250 by May 21, 2025, after finding that she had operated an illegal pyramid scheme known as Tongitupe New Zealand PTOA.
Siasau’s warrant of arrest, detailed in a Ministry of Justice letter on 20 February 2026, seen by Kaniva News, lists the “Agent reference number: Tongitupe,” indicating that the debt enforcement action is recorded under the same name as the notorious investment scheme operated internationally by Tilila Siola‘a Walker.
Kaniva News, which first reported on the Tongitupe scam in 2021, understands that Siasau acted as an agent for Tongitupe, and her involvement in facilitating the scheme has been the focus of earlier investigative reporting.
Victim of Hype
Hingano was among the hundreds of Tongans who fell victim to the Tongitupe scam after it was aggressively promoted across Facebook, including widely viewed live streams filmed from a business yard in Ōtara.
One of the Tongitupe promotional social media messages at the time claimed that for every $4,500 invested, participants needed only to wait three weeks before receiving $2,500 every week thereafter.
During the scheme’s peak, investors posted photos on social media as they lined up to collect envelopes of cash from Siasau’s office.
The Tongitupe (also known as Tongi Tupe) investment program was founded and operated by Tilila Siola‘a Walker (also known as Tilila Walker Sumchai), a Tongan California‑based woman charged by U.S. authorities with orchestrating a multimillion‑dollar Ponzi‑style scheme that defrauded members of the Tongan diaspora across the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Federal authorities allege that Walker defrauded more than 1,000 investors, raising over USD $11.8 million through her Tongitupe investment scheme, according to statements from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Investigators say Walker lured victims by falsely claiming to use a secret algorithm that guaranteed exceptionally high returns, while in reality she spent investor funds on gambling, travel and personal expenses, rather than legitimate investments.
Officials further state that the operation relied on new investor money to pay earlier investors, mirroring the structure of a classic Ponzi scheme.
U.S. federal prosecutors have confirmed that Walker is scheduled to stand trial on 1 March 2027, giving the defence additional preparation time.
