Guo Wengui, the Chinese exile businessman whose criticism of the Communist Party won him a huge online following and powerful friends in the U.S. conservative movement, was found guilty Tuesday by a U.S. jury of participating in a massive, years-long fraud scheme that defrauded some of his most ardent fans.
Guo, once considered one of China’s richest people, was arrested in New York in March 2023 and accused of running an organized crime ring between 2018 and 2023.
During a seven-week trial, he was accused of defrauding thousands of people who put their money into fake investments to support his lavish lifestyle. He was found guilty of nine of 12 charges, including organized crime conspiracy.
Guo’s lawyer said prosecutors had not proven that Guo deceived anyone.
Mr Guo, also known as Miles Kwok, left China in 2014 amid an anti-corruption crackdown that implicated his inner circle, including senior intelligence officials.
Chinese authorities accused Guo of rape, kidnapping and bribery, but he claims the charges are false and designed to punish him for criticizing leading Communist Party figures and publicly exposing corruption.
He applied for political asylum in the United States, moved into a luxury apartment overlooking Central Park and joined Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
While living in New York, Guo developed a close relationship with Steve Bannon, a former political strategist for President Trump. In 2020, Guo and Bannon announced a joint effort to overthrow the Chinese government.
Prosecutors say hundreds of thousands of people were persuaded to invest more than $1 billion in companies controlled by Guo, including his media company GTV Media Group Ltd, the so-called Himalayan Farms Federation and the Himalayan Exchange.
In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finkel said Guo “told malicious lies to deceive his followers into giving him money.”
Guo said he had produced hundreds of broadcasts and videos assuring his followers that if they invested in him, they wouldn’t lose out.
“I’m rich. I’ll take care of you,” Guo told the prosecutors.
