California Man Sentenced to 33 Months In Prison In Connection With $20 Million Scheme to Defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- David Villongco, 51, ofSan Mateo, Calif., was sentenced to 33 months in prison in connection witha $20 million scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the UnitedStates, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Divisionand U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor of the District of Columbia announcedtoday. Villongco was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for theDistrict of Columbia by the Honorable Richard W. Roberts. In addition tohis prison sentence, Villongco was placed on three years of supervisedrelease, ordered to pay restitution of $14,284,652 to the Export-ImportBank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), and complete 100 hours of communityservice. The substantial assistance Villongco provided to the government inits investigation and prosecution of others was taken into consideration atsentencing. Villongco pleaded guilty on March 16, 2007, to one count of conspiracyto defraud the government with respect to claims and one count of mailfraud. At the time of his plea, Villongco forfeited $150,000 in proceedsfrom the crime. As part of his plea, Villongco, the former co-owner and manager of PBJVenture International Corporation, an exporting company located in SanMateo, Calif., admitted that from October 2001 until August 2004, he and aco-conspirator acted as purported "exporters" in approximately $20 millionworth of fraudulent loan transactions, falsified documents sent to U.S.banks and to the Ex-Im Bank, and misappropriated approximately $16 millionin loan proceeds. Villongco admitted keeping approximately $150,000 ofthose proceeds and transferring approximately $15 million to bank accountsowned or controlled by co-conspirators in the Philippines. Villongco's sentencing is part of a broader investigation into an $80million scheme to defraud the Ex-Im Bank between November 1999 and December2005. To date, six individuals - Villongco, Daniel Curran, Edward Chua,Robert Delgado, Christina Song and Jaime Galvez - have pleaded guilty fortheir involvement in the fraud scheme. Delgado was sentenced on Oct. 5,2007, to concurrent terms of 24 months incarceration, and Galvez wassentenced to 12 months incarceration. In addition, four other individuals -Marilyn Ong, Ildefonso Ong, Nelson Ti and Joseph Tirona - have beenindicted by a federal grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia fortheir alleged involvement in the scheme. These cases are being investigated by the U.S. Postal InspectionService's Los Angeles Division and the FBI's Washington Field Office. Thecases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Hank Bond Walther of the FraudSection of the Criminal Division and Michael K. Atkinson, Assistant U.S.Attorney in the District of Columbia.