HONOLULU, Hawaii (PaddlingInstructor.com) -- In the past eight months, two people have been ordered to pay a total of $51,000 after being convicted of making bogus distress calls that sent Coast Guard aircraft and boats scrambling to search for missing people who did not exist.

In the latest case, Justin J. Aquino, 19, of O'ahu, was sentenced Monday to five years supervised probation and 100 hours of community service following his guilty plea to a felony charge of making a false Mayday call to the Coast Guard on March 8.

He also was ordered to reimburse the Coast Guard $29,000 for costs incurred in responding to the false distress call. Aquino could not be reached for comment yesterday.

In a previous case, Christine Stark was sentenced on Sept. 12, 2006, to three years probation and ordered to pay $22,000 after she triggered a Coast Guard search in waters off Maui on Aug. 28, 2003.

Stark could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Following news of Aquino's sentencing, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said the "large monetary fine makes it clear that these false reports are not funny. Whether a false distress call to the Coast Guard, or a false report about something on a plane, or even the false yelling of fire in a theater - these types of reports cause unnecessary fear and distress among innocent families and the public."

The Coast Guard said Aquino told investigators he made a false report because he was bored.

NO ONE MISSING

On Aug. 28, 2003, Stark, a Santa Cruz, Calif., resident, told the Coast Guard she was one of seven people in a canoe that was capsized by waves in waters off Maui. Stark was found floating by the captain of a catamaran.

Stark told the captain that six of her friends were still missing and the captain immediately alerted the Coast Guard. A rescue helicopter from Barbers Point was dispatched and a rescue vessel deployed from Maui.

Under pressure from investigators who began to pick up on discrepancies in Stark's description of events, Stark admitted she made the story up, the Guard said.