Self-exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui faces “decades in prison” after he was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury for defrauding his online followers of millions of dollars, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement following the July 16 verdict.
Mr. Guo, also known as Miles Guo, was found guilty on nine of 12 charges, including racketeering conspiracy and fraud charges in the Southern District of New York. Federal prosecutors said Mr. Guo defrauded thousands of victims of more than $1 billion in different schemes from 2018 to 2023 and spent the money on luxury goods including a New Jersey mansion, a red Lamborghini, and a yacht.
“Miles Guo, an exiled Chinese businessman and purported billionaire, brazenly operated several interrelated fraud schemes, all designed to fleece his loyal followers out of their hard-earned money so that Guo could spend his days in his 50,000 square foot mansion, driving his $1 million Lamborghini, or lounging on his $37 million yacht,” Mr. Williams said.
“Thousands of Guo’s online followers were victimized so that Guo could live ... a life of excess. Today, Guo’s schemes have been put to an end. ... He faces decades in prison.”
U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres set his sentencing for Nov. 19.
The 53-year-old Chinese billionaire fled to the United States in 2015 and gained a “substantial online following” in 2017 while claiming to “advance a movement against” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to a court document.
In one scheme, Mr. Guo defrauded victims through a cryptocurrency “ecosystem” called Himalaya Exchange, which involved trading a cryptocurrency called the Himalaya Dollar, according to the court document.
His defense lawyers said jurors shouldn’t have made their decision so quickly.
“Mr. Guo didn’t care about the money,” defense lawyer Sidhardha Kamaraju said in his closing argument last week. “He cared about the movement.”
After Mr. Kamaraju’s remarks, prosecutor Juliana Murray told jurors that the defense lawyer was correct that Mr. Guo cared about the anti-CCP movement.
“And at least one of the reasons he loved it is because it was his personal piggybank,” Ms. Murray said.
Last week, prosecutor Ryan Finkel, during his closing argument, played videos of Mr. Guo pitching investments, including several in which Mr. Guo was wearing sunglasses and standing on a yacht deck.
Mr. Kamaraju argued that the mansion and Lamborghini were not Mr. Guo’s personal property. He claimed that the New Jersey property and the sports car were amenities available for Mr. Guo’s followers in his luxury membership club.
The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Kamaraju for comment but didn’t receive a reply by publication time.
