(Bloomberg) -- Six companies tied to Chinese billionaire Liu Zhongtian were ordered by a U.S. judge to pay $1.83 billion in restitution for disguising aluminum shipments to avoid paying approximately that amount in customs duties.

Perfectus Aluminum Inc. and one of its units, as well as four southern California-based warehouses where the aluminum was stored -- all controlled by Liu -- were sentenced Monday after a Los Angeles jury last year convicted the companies of conspiracy, fraud and other charges, the Justice Department said in a statement. 

U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner also sentenced the companies to five years of probation.

The companies disguised aluminum as pallets to avoid paying the duties, exported them to the U.S., and then orchestrated bogus sales sold inflate a China-based company’s revenues and deceive investors, according to the statement.

China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd., Asia’s largest manufacturer of aluminum extrusions, and Liu, the company’s former president and chairman, were indicted in 2019 but have yet to make an appearance in U.S. court to face the charges, according to the statement. 

Read More: Chinese Billionaire-Linked Companies Convicted of U.S. Fraud 

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