Chinese Billionaire Guo Wengui Sentenced to 30 Years for $1B Fraud
Exiled Chinese entrepreneur Guo Wengui received a 30-year federal prison sentence in New York for defrauding thousands of investors of over $1 billion.
Exiled Chinese tycoon gets 30 years for billion-dollar fraud scheme
Exiled Chinese entrepreneur Guo Wengui was sentenced Monday to 30 years in federal prison in New York for defrauding thousands of people of more than $1 billion, NYT US News reports. A jury had unanimously convicted him in July 2024 on charges including fraud, securities offenses, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, the businessman leveraged his online following from 2018 onward to persuade thousands of investors to put money into his companies and projects, which promised high returns or luxury services. U.S. authorities allege the proceeds largely funded his own lavish lifestyle — including expensive real estate and a Bugatti supercar — rather than the ventures advertised.
The FBI arrested Guo in March 2023 at his luxury Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park. His former associate Yvette Wang was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for her role in the scheme.
Guo, now in his fifties — his exact age is not publicly known — made his fortune in real estate in China before moving to the United States in 2015. He fled China while under an Interpol red notice for financial fraud, allegations he has denied. From New York, he cultivated an image as a fierce critic of the Chinese Communist Party and a defender of democracy.
He maintained close ties with right-wing figure Steve Bannon, with whom he co-founded the New Federal State of China, a lobbying organization opposed to the CCP. Bannon was himself arrested in August 2020 aboard Guo's yacht in a separate case tied to alleged embezzlement of funds from a private campaign to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Guo drew further attention after his 2023 arrest by announcing plans to hold an online auction of what he described as "unvaccinated sperm," promoting the unfounded claim that vaccines cause mass sterility.
Source: NYT US News