Self-Exiled Chinese Tycoon Convicted in US Fraud Case

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Facts

  • Guo Wengui — a Chinese businessman who fled to New York and allied with alleged conservative anti-PRC advocates in the United States — was found guilty of conducting a billion-dollar fraud on his online followers by a Manhattan jury on Tuesday.1
  • The self-exiled billionaire — alias Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Kwok — was convicted of nine of 12 criminal charges, including racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud, following a seven-week trial.2
  • Guo faces forfeiture of assets and up to two decades in prison. He has been in federal custody without bail since March 2023. Judge Analisa Torres has set his sentencing for Nov. 19.3
  • It's alleged that Guo used his notoriety and loyal followers to raise over $1B and spent the money on luxury items such as a Lamborghini and a yacht.4
  • He is said to have promoted several schemes, including club memberships and cryptocurrencies, to defraud his followers. However, his attorneys claim his enterprises were above board and intended to support his advocacy against the Chinese Communist Party.5
  • Guo left China in 2014 during an anticorruption crackdown, claiming that Beijing was pushing false allegations of rape, kidnapping, and bribery against him. He applied for political asylum in the US and became a friend of Steve Bannon — former Pres. Donald Trump's former political ally.6

Sources: 1Financial Times, 2USA Today, 3Wsj, 4South China Morning Post, 5New York Times and 6Daily Mail.

Narratives

  • Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by The Daily Beast. The self-styled anti-Communist crusader Guo, who has been found guilty of defrauding investors in a colossal, billion-dollar scheme, is just another MAGA fraudster. After all, how could we expect anything good of a Bannon-comrade who happens to have close relationships with the likes of George Santos, Donald Trump Jr., and Peter Navarro?
  • Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Breitbart. The fact that Guo has been found guilty has nothing to do with politics, as the billionaire is connected to various politicians — including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair of the left-wing Labour Party. It's outrageous that some people are trying to use this case to slander Trump and his MAGA movement.

Predictions