Old university mate fleeced of millions

SYDNEY - Joshua Chu's extraordinary naivety was matched only by his friend Michael Chin's unfettered greed.

The pair had been friends for a decade when Chin embarked on a determined bid to fleece Chu of everything he owned. He succeeded.

The breathtaking tale of avarice entwined with gullibility ended in the Supreme Court of New South Wales this week, when Chin was ordered to repay his former mate A$7,054,824 ($7,674,248), plus legal costs.

The saga began in 1991 when the two men from Hong Kong were studying English at Sydney University.

Chu returned to Hong Kong in 1994, but Chin remained in Australia and five years later persuaded his old drinking partner to start investing in the first of a series of non-existent businesses.

According to a statement of claim tendered to the court, Chin falsely claimed he was the director of a company called Edin Investments.

Boasting of the money to be made buying property in Japan and shares in Australia, he enticed Chu into pouring millions of dollars into his personal ANZ savings account in Sydney.

The property deals were bogus and the shares non-existent.

Chu finally ran out of patience last year and hired a private investigator to track down some of the businessmen Chin was supposedly working with.

Needless to say, the private eye was unable to find any of them.