Exporter sentenced for $10m fraud scheme

A Californian man has been sentenced to 37 months in prison in connection with a $10m (€6.5m) scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) of the United States.

Edward Chua was sentenced today in the US District Court of Columbia. In addition to his prison sentence, Chua was placed on 36 months of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $10m to the Ex-Im Bank. The substantial assistance Chua provided to the government in its investigation and prosecution of others was taken into consideration at sentencing.

“Chua's sentencing is part of a broader investigation into an $80m scheme to defraud the Ex-Im Bank between November 1999 and December 2005.

Chua pleaded guilty on July 13, 2007, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the US and one count of mail fraud. As part of his plea, Chua, the former owner of EMMCCO and ECCO, exporting companies located in Montebello, admitted that from November 1999 until January 2005, he acted as a purported ‘exporter’ in approximately $10m worth of fraudulent loan transactions, falsified documents sent to US banks and to the Ex-Im Bank, and misappropriated approximately $10m in loan proceeds. Chua admitted to keeping approximately $300,000 of those proceeds and transferring approximately $9m to bank accounts owned or controlled by a co-conspirator in the Philippines.

Chua's sentencing is part of a broader investigation into an $80m scheme to defraud the Ex-Im Bank between November 1999 and December 2005. To date, seven individuals have pleaded guilty to charges related to their involvement in the fraud scheme.