Former Chinese Billionaire and Bannon Associate Is Sentenced for Fraud
Guo Wengui, a Chinese businessman who transformed himself from a Beijing insider into an anti-Communist crusader and ally of the American far right, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Monday for defrauding investors, including many of his own fervent supporters, of hundreds of millions of dollars.Mr.Guo, who had made a fortune in Beijing as a real estate developer and had forged an alliance with a corrupt intelligence official there, fled China in 2015, settling in a $68 million Manhattan penthouse overlooking Central Park.
There, he took to social media and YouTube, denouncing the Chinese Communist Party and luring thousands of followers convinced that Mr.Guo would harness his wealth and inside knowledge to bring democracy to China.He took them into his confidence and they showered him with money, buying shares in his media company, dubious club memberships and a fake cryptocurrency that he promised would make them all rich beyond belief.Mr.
Guo, also known as Miles Kwok, used that money to fund a lavish lifestyle, buying an estate in rural New Jersey, a mansion in Greenwich, Conn., and a $4.4 million Bugatti supercar.He was arrested at his Manhattan apartment in 2023 and convicted in federal court the following year of racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud and money-laundering conspiracy.Judge Analisa Torres of Federal District Court in Manhattan said on Monday that Mr.
Guo had “preyed on people seeking to bring democracy to China,” causing them “substantial financial and emotional harm.”She handed down a 30-year sentence, the punishment requested by federal prosecutors, who had likened Mr.Guo’s crimes to those of the notorious fraudster Bernard Madoff.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
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