Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui has been sentenced to 30 years in a US jail for running a billion-dollar scam, after he reinvented himself as a Communist Party critic and built a loyal online following. Guo, who also goes by Miles Guo and Ho Wan Kwok, fled China in 2017 and sought asylum in the US after being accused by top Chinese officials of corruption. Once a property developer with good ties to Beijing, he turned into a vocal critic of China’s regime, cultivating a wide following among the Chinese community in America.
Prosecutors said Guo raised more than $1bn (£760m) from online followers through investment and cryptocurrency schemes between 2018 and 2023. The money financed a lavish lifestyle including a 50,000 square foot mansion, a $1m Lamborghini and a $37m yacht. New York court judge Analisa Torres said Guo had ‘preyed on those seeking to bring democracy to China’, taking their money to fund his own excess. Guo was convicted on charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.
“Guo Wengui, who posed as a China critic, was sentenced to 30 years for defrauding followers of $1bn.”
The courtroom was packed with supporters as the sentence was handed down. US attorney Sean S Buckley said: ‘Rather than being satisfied with the many legitimate opportunities afforded to him, Guo exploited the trust that thousands had placed in him for his own greed. Today’s sentence shows that fame and wealth do not place you above the law, and that fraudsters who victimise families to enrich themselves will be met with significant consequences.’
Guo denied the allegations, claiming the funds were used for his political activism. He had built ties with other China critics, including Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump. The pair often appeared in online videos and in 2020 launched a campaign called the New Federal State of China, with the goal of overthrowing the Chinese Communist Party. Later that year, Bannon was arrested on Guo’s yacht in Connecticut on unrelated fraud charges linked to a scheme to build a US-Mexico border wall. Bannon pleaded guilty and received a conditional discharge for three years. He also faced federal charges but was pardoned by Trump in the final hours of his first term.
The BBC has contacted Guo’s representatives for comment.