Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon greets fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui before introducing him at a news conference in New York on November 20, 2018.
Dan Emmert | AFP | Good pictures
Controversial exiled Chinese billionaire businessman Guo Wengui — an ally of former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon — was arrested in New York on Wednesday for allegedly arranging more than $1 billion in bribes, federal prosecutors said. Conspiracy to defraud It lured online followers with promises of exorbitant investment returns.
Guo His company reportedly used some of the money raised by GTV Media and other companies to buy a 50,000-square-foot mansion in New Jersey, a $37 million luxury yacht, a $3.5 million Ferrari for his son, a $140,000 Posendorfer piano and two Houston 2000 mattresses. It costs 36,000 dollars.
Prosecutors said they seized more than $650 million in fraudulent proceeds from 21 different bank accounts and assets, including a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ roadster automobile, as part of the case against Guo and his financial adviser William Jay. Manhattan Federal Court.
The Securities and Exchange Commission Filed a separate petition in this regard Civil complaint Guo, 52, who lives in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, and Ze are on the run.
Miles Guo and Miles Kwok Kuo, known by various names including “Brother Seven and The Principal,” has lived in the United States since 2015 after fleeing China.
In 2018, he founded two non-profit organizations, the Rule of Law Foundation and the Rule of Law Society, which he used as part of his public relations campaign against the Chinese Communist Party.
Guo “used non-profit organizations to amass followers aligned with his policy objectives in China and related investment and money-making opportunities.[குவோவின்}அறிக்கைகளைநம்பமுனைந்தார்”என்றுநியூயார்க்கின்தெற்குமாவட்டத்திற்கானஅமெரிக்கவழக்கறிஞர்அலுவலகம்ஒருஅறிக்கையில்கூறினார்[Guo’s}statementsregardinginvestmentandmoney-makingopportunities”theUSAttorney’sOfficefortheSouthernDistrictofNewYorksaidinastatement
Guo is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday afternoon.
The SEC alleges that Guo and Je engaged in unregistered and fraudulent financial offers.
The SEC separately accused Guo of making misrepresentations in raising hundreds of millions of dollars from investors through a cryptocurrency asset called H-Coin.
Last September, three companies associated with Guo, including GTV Media, agreed to pay nearly $540 million to settle civil charges. SEC Making illegal offers Stock and digital assets.
In August 2020, federal authorities arrested Bannon on a mega yacht owned by Guo off the coast of Connecticut, on charges of embezzling money for the “We Built the Wall” fundraising campaign. Former President Donald Trump pardoned Bannon in the case months later, shortly before Trump left the White House.
Bannon, who served less than a year as a senior White House adviser to Trump, was at one point on the board of directors of the Rule of Law Society. In June 2021, two of Guo’s nonprofits hosted a private party in New York attended by Bannon, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, and Trump associate and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindel, CEO of MyPillow.
A 12-count grand jury criminal indictment unsealed Wednesday alleges that Guo and Ze “conspired to defraud thousands of victims” in a scheme that spanned from 2018 to this month.
Prosecutors said the alleged conspiracy, which used various companies and schemes to obtain investments from victims, was defrauded by misrepresentations and misrepresentations.
“Kwok lied to his victims, promising them high returns if they invested or gave money to GTV. [Media] His Himalaya Farm Alliance, G|CLUBS and Himalaya Exchange,” the lawyers said in a press release.
The accused have been charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. Jay has also been charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to transfer money related to the plot to the United Arab Emirates since last September.
Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s enforcement division, said the agency accused Guo of being a serial fraudster who raised more than $850 million by promising investors high returns in crypto, technology and fancy investment opportunities.
“In reality, Quo used the hype and glamor surrounding crypto and other investments to victimize thousands and fund his and his family’s lavish lifestyle,” Grewal said.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Guo and Jain’s private offering of common stock in GTV Media Group is an example of fraud.
“Guo and Je allegedly transferred $100 million of investor funds to a hedge fund for the sole benefit of a company owned by Guo’s son,” the SEC said.
The SEC said Guo misused two investor returns to pay more than $40 million to buy and renovate a New Jersey mansion and buy his son a Ferrari.
Both Guo and Jie could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
