Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years for $1 billion fraud scheme

A federal judge in Manhattan sentenced Guo Wengui to 30 years in prison and ordered $889 million in restitution and forfeiture after finding he used an anti-Communist persona, elite conservative ties and a huge online following to drive a fraud that brought in more than $1 billion. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres imposed the sentence on June 29. The case reached victims around the world.

Guo, also known as Miles Guo and Ho Wan Kwok, fled China about a decade ago and rebuilt himself in the United States as a high-profile critic of the Chinese Communist Party. Steve Bannon publicly introduced Guo at a New York news conference on November 20, 2018, and his network of media and fundraising ventures expanded.

From about 2018 through March 2023, Guo used his hundreds of thousands of online followers and his anti-Communist identity to solicit money through a web of more than 500 accounts tied to at least 80 entities or individuals. The operation defrauded more than 1,000 people worldwide and moved more than $300 million for Guo and his family’s benefit.

The money went to a 50,000-square-foot New Jersey mansion, a custom Bugatti worth about $4.4 million, a $3.5 million Ferrari, a $37 million luxury yacht and two mattresses priced at $36,000 each.

Guo was convicted on July 16, 2024, after a seven-week trial on racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Torres said Guo had “preyed on those seeking to bring Democracy to China” and that he still insisted his conduct caused no loss and harmed no one. Wei Chen told the court that the fraud destroyed her life and her family’s life.