Mother Jones illustration; Don Emmert/AFP/Getty (2); Anthony Behar/Sipa/AP
A jury has convicted Guo Wengui—an exiled Chinese billionaire with a devoted following of thousands of Chinese emigres—of multiple felonies in his sprawling fraud trial. Guo, who has deep ties to the MAGA movement, was convicted on nine of 12 counts presented by federal prosecutors, including racketeering conspiracy and securities fraud, after a seven week trial.
The jurors agreed with prosecutors that Guo had used a series of supposed investment opportunities he launched starting in 2020—a media company, a loan program, a supposed membership club, and a crypto currency exchange—to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from investors.
The verdict also affirmed prosecutors’ contention that a political movement that Guo built alongside former Trump campaign chief Steve Bannon starting in 2018—which the men claim aims to “take down the CCP”—was largely a con, a pretense that Guo used win the support and trust of people in the Chinese diaspora, and then fleece them.
Guo, who has been jailed since his March 2023 arrest, could face decades in prison, and at least potentially, deportation to China, where he also faces criminal charges. Judge Analisa Torres set his sentencing for November 19.
Guo, who got rich in Chinese real estate with help from a top official in China’s Security Ministry, fled his native country in 2014 after the arrest of a key political patron in an anti-corruption purge. Guo bought a $66 million apartment in Manhattan, along with a membership in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and a $30 million yacht, fancy cars, and a closets full of Brioni suits.
In 2017, Guo began using YouTube and media interviews to reveal what he said was deep corruption by some top Chinese government officials. This drew a swift reaction from Chinese agents, who worked to silence him or force his extradition.
Guo deftly exploited publicity from China’s efforts against him, winning an ardent following of backers who formed groups, akin to fan clubs, around the world that aimed to bolster Guo’s messaging. Starting in the late fall of 2017, Guo had help from Bannon, to whom Guo has paid millions of dollars. Bannon helped Guo launch nonprofits and media companies; a fashion line (in 2021 the company sold a button-down with the word “ivermectin” on it for $1,820); and even a music company, which produced hip-hop-style videos featuring Guo.
In 2020, Guo began offering fans the chance to invest in his ventures. His solicitations included videos in which he regularly guaranteed supporters that they would make money investing with him and pledged that he would personally repay them if his lost money.
“If anyone loses money, please come to me,” Guo said in a video played repeatedly during the trial. “I will be responsible.” That was not true.
Prosecutors paired these videos with testimony of victims who said they relied on Guo’s phony guarantees when they decided to invest.
“Miles Guo stole my money,” Jenny Li, a Nevada resident who emigrated from China about 20 years ago, testified through an interpreter during the trial referring to one of the various names Guo uses. “I was cheated,” Li said.
The videos alone, prosecutors said, offered sufficient evidence to convict Guo of fraud. Citing an FBI photograph of a desk and a microphone that Guo used to make some of his broadcasts, Assistant US Attorney Ryan Finkel in his summation Wednesday stated: “This a crime scene.”
Prosecutors also introduced evidence showing Guo had money put up by investors moved through a series of accounts. In a tape recording, made secretly by a cooperating witness who testified under a non-prosecution agreement, Guo can be heard screaming at subordinates who balked at moving $100 million dollars into an account he controlled as quickly as he wanted. The money came from investors in a membership company, called G|Clubs, that Guo publicly claimed he did not control.
“You bastard, get the fuck the out of here,” Guo, speaking Mandarin, told an underling who suggested he obtain board approval to make the transfer look more legitimate.
Other witnesses and bank statements showed that Guo then spent these funds on a $25 million mansion, $1 million worth of chandeliers, $978,000 of rugs, a $3.5 million Ferrari for his son, and two $36,000 mattresses.
Guo’s conviction follows a guilty plea in May by his former top subordinate, Yvette Wang, who is awaiting sentencing. Another charged co-conspirator, a Guo financier named William Je, remains a fugitive. Prosecutors have said he is in the United Arab Emirates, where Guo began to shift his operations prior to his March 2023 arrest.
Prosecutors have also named Bannon, along with a series of other Guo associates, as co-conspirators in the case, though they are not charged. Bannon helped Guo launch some of the companies that were part of Guo’s fraud scheme, publicly promoted them, and even advised Guo on how to set them up to avoid SEC scrutiny. Bannon’s perceived ties to Trump also helped Guo suggest his political movement, and associated financial ventures, enjoyed a link to Trump.
Finkel said in court Wednesday that “it’s not some accident…that Steve Bannon was involved,” in Guo’s crimes. Guo, Finkel said, “used Steve Bannon. He was hired for a million dollars so that Guo could use Bannon’s notoriety and his fame to promote himself.” Bannon has declined to comment on Guo’s trial.
Guo and his companies also paid or employed other prominent MAGA figures, including Trump adviser Jason Miller, Rudy Giuliani, former White House aide Peter Navarro, Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, Turning Point USA chief Charlie Kirk, and Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt. Guo supporters are surely hoping those relationships, should Trump return to the White House next year, could help Guo secure a pardon or commutation.
