Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese businessman and a close ally of Donald Trump associate Steve Bannon, was convicted on nine counts, including racketeering and wire fraud.
He was arrested in 2023 for allegedly orchestrating schemes, including one that raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors through a crypto asset security referred to as “H-Coin.”
Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire also known as Miles Guo, was convicted by a U.S. jury on Tuesday on several counts, including racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud.
“Moments ago, a unanimous jury found Miles Guo guilty of racketeering conspiracy and various securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering charges. He faces decades in prison,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
Guo was arrested in March 2023 on suspicion of orchestrating a more than $1 billion fraud conspiracy that included cryptocurrency. On Tuesday, he was found guilty of nine out of 12 counts, primarily soliciting investments in various entities through false statements and representations to hundreds of thousands of his online followers.
“Thousands of Guo’s online followers were victimized so that Guo could live of a life of excess,” the prosecutor said. “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.”
Following Guo’s arrest in 2023, the DOJ said at the time that Guo obtained more than $262 million in victim funds through the Himalaya Exchange, a purported cryptocurrency ecosystem. The DOJ added that it had seized about $634 million from 21 different bank accounts linked to the alleged fraud.