Politics & Government

Newport Coast Man Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding Banks

Thomas Chia Fu was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in prison for defrauding seven banks of about $4.7 million. His wife, Cheri L. Shyu, was also sentenced to three years in prison.

A Newport Coast man was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for defrauding seven banks of an estimated $4.7 million.

Thomas Chia Fu, 64, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney to pay $4.7 million in restitution. He will share that burden with his wife, Cheri L. Shyu, 61, who was sentenced by Carney last month to three years in prison, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeannie Joseph.

The couple pleaded guilty in January 2012 in connection with the fraud involving a $130 million revolving line of credit from a consortium of seven banks for their Anaheim-based home decor business, Galleria USA Inc., according to Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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Shyu, whose company was Home Depot's "vendor of the year" for 2006-07, has paid $250,000 in restitution, her attorney Steve Katzman said. It's not clear whether the couple has the means to pay back more, according to Joseph.

As the economy began to fail, they began inflating the company's income by tens of millions of dollars to continue borrowing money under the revolving line of credit, prosecutors said. They also doctored the company's computer system to hide Galleria's finances, according to court papers, which state that the fraud took place from October 2008 to July 2009.

Find out what's happening in Newport Beach-Corona Del Marwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Thomas Fu is an honorable man who made mistakes that he deeply regrets," defense attorney Dave Wiechert said. "He looks forward to completing his sentence and sharing quality time with his family during the twilight of his years."

-City News Service


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