Former Epoch Times CFO pleads guilty in $67 million fraud case

Weidong Bill Guan pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court as jury selection was beginning, ending a case that prosecutors said involved at least $67 million in fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits and other criminal proceeds funneled through The Epoch Times and related accounts. The former chief financial officer, 63, of Secaucus, New Jersey, admitted conspiracy in a scheme that ran from at least 2020 through May 2024.

In court, Guan told Judge Victor Marrero that he knew there was a high probability that the funds moving through the accounts he oversaw were criminal proceeds, but chose not to look deeper. He described the episode as a tremendous lapse in judgment and acknowledged that what he did was wrong and illegal. Marrero did not immediately set sentencing, and Guan remains free on bail. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The plea sharpens scrutiny of the internal controls inside a media organization that prosecutors say became a laundering channel. Federal authorities said money was routed through Epoch accounts, Guan’s personal bank and crypto accounts, and other entities after members of the company’s Make Money Online team began using cryptocurrency in 2020 to buy tens of millions of dollars in crime proceeds. Prosecutors said stolen personal information was used to open accounts that fed the network, and that Guan falsely told banks the money came from legitimate donations to the media company when questioned.

The Justice Department first unsealed the indictment on June 3, 2024, after Guan was arrested the day before and initially pleaded not guilty in the Southern District of New York. Court records show he was released on a $3 million personal-recognizance bond secured by $250,000 cash and three co-signers. The case, assigned to Marrero, was headed toward a trial that the government said would have included current and former Epoch Times employee testimony, cryptocurrency records, and hundreds of emails and text messages.

The plea leaves unresolved how such a large scheme could move through a major media company’s accounts for years without triggering stronger controls. Prosecutors have said the charges were not related to The Epoch Times’ newsgathering, but the allegations still place donors, subscribers, and affiliated entities under a cloud of risk because the money moved through company-linked channels. The Department of Labor inspector general said the case was part of protecting unemployment insurance benefits intended for unemployed workers, while the Diplomatic Security Service framed it as a transnational financial investigation.