Chinese tycoon jailed 30 years in US fraud case
Guo, once regarded as one of China’s richest property tycoons, was sentenced by a New York court after being convicted of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.
A dramatic fall from wealth, political activism and online influence has ended in a 30-year prison sentence for Chinese businessman Guo Wengui in the United States.
Guo, once regarded as one of China’s richest property tycoons, was sentenced by a New York court after being convicted of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.
He had fled China to the United States in 2017, where he presented himself as an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party and attracted a large following among Chinese dissidents and anti-Beijing activists.
Prosecutors, however, said the platform he built was later used to defraud supporters through investment and cryptocurrency schemes.
Between 2018 and 2023, Guo allegedly raised more than $1 billion from followers who believed they were backing business ventures and political causes.
The court found that the money was instead used to support his luxury lifestyle.
Prosecutors said the funds helped pay for a 50,000-square-foot mansion, a $1 million Lamborghini and a $37 million yacht.
Delivering the sentence, Judge Analisa Torres said Guo had exploited people who wanted to support democratic change in China.
She said he “preyed on those seeking to bring democracy to China” and used their money for personal benefit.
US Attorney Sean Buckley said the sentence showed that wealth and fame do not place anyone above the law.
He said Guo had abused the trust of thousands of people for his own gain.
Guo, who is also known as Miles Guo and Ho Wan Kwok, maintains his innocence.
His lawyer, Melinda Sarafa, described the 30-year sentence as excessive.
She said the court failed to properly consider the position of many investors who still insist they were not defrauded.
According to her, Guo intends to appeal both the conviction and the sentence.
Guo’s supporters filled the courtroom during the sentencing.
Before his legal troubles in the United States, Guo had built a fortune in China through real estate and maintained connections with influential figures in the Chinese government.
He later fell out with Chinese authorities and sought asylum in the US after being accused of corruption by officials in Beijing.
In America, he recast himself as a political dissident and built links with other critics of the Chinese government.
One of his most prominent associates was Steve Bannon, former adviser to US President Donald Trump.
The two appeared together in online broadcasts and, in 2020, launched the New Federal State of China campaign, which claimed to seek the overthrow of the Chinese Communist Party.
Bannon was later arrested on Guo’s yacht in Connecticut in an unrelated fraud case involving fundraising for a private US-Mexico border wall project.
He later pleaded guilty in a Manhattan court to a state-level scheme-to-defraud charge and was given a conditional discharge.
Guo’s sentencing marks one of the most high-profile fraud cases involving a Chinese exile in the United States.
It also brings a severe legal reckoning for a man who transformed himself from property magnate to anti-communist activist before being convicted of exploiting the very movement he claimed to support.
