Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Guo, has been found guilty of defrauding his supporters through his company, GTV Media Group, in a billion-dollar scam. As a result, he has been exiled from China.
According to a statement by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Miles Guo’s schemes have finally come to an end as he has been found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering charges by a unanimous jury. This verdict could lead to him facing several decades of imprisonment.
Guo has been in jail since March 2023 after being arrested in New York. Following his arrest, a fire broke out in his penthouse located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
According to the trial’s prosecutors, Guo allegedly defrauded investors of almost $1 billion to support his extravagant lifestyle.
Apart from the ongoing criminal trial, Guo has also been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for an alleged scheme. This scheme involved raising $500 million from retail investors for a cryptocurrency venture called H-Coin. Guo falsely claimed that this venture was backed by gold to the extent of 20%.
Political strategist Steve Bannon has had a longstanding working relationship with Guo, spanning several years. Bannon, who had a brief stint in the Trump administration, teamed up with Guo in 2020 to unveil a bold initiative to overthrow the Chinese government, dubbed the New Federal State of China.
In August of 2020, authorities arrested Bannon on Guo’s yacht for his involvement in a crowdfunding scheme aimed at building a border wall between the United States and Mexico. The charges against him include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
State-level prosecutors charged him with a separate fraud case, despite being pardoned by Trump later on.
