Fraudster ordered to repay $10 million

WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- A federal court ordered a Montebello, Calif., man to repay $10 million for his part in an $80 million fraud case, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday.

Edward Chua, one of 11 men charged in the case, pleaded guilty in July 2007 to one count of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States after acting as a "purported exporter" in $10 million worth of fraudulent loan transactions involving the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Chua, who cooperated in the investigation, said he kept approximately $300,000 of the proceeds from the fraud, transferring approximately $9 million to co-conspirators in the Philippines.

Chua was sentenced at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Seven others have pleaded guilty in the case, receiving sentences of between 12 months and 41 months in prison. Four others have been indicted, the Justice Department said.