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US court in New York State will sentence Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui on November 19

Posted on by Pranco
US court in New York State will sentence Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui on November 19

Guo Wengui is a Chinese billionaire. He was previously convicted on July 16 in New York of fraud and other charges for allegedly defrauding investors of more than $1 billion. Judge Analisa Torres will sentence him on November 19.

On March 15, 2023, Guo Wengui was arrested by federal authorities in New York on charges of conspiring to defraud his online followers of more than $1 billion. This included $452 million in unregistered offerings and a $150 million GTV loan, in addition to a $250 million membership program and a $262 million cryptocurrency project for the Himalayan Exchange. He faces 12 criminal charges, including bank fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Nine of these charges were found to be justified, and if convicted on November 19, Guo could face up to 20 years in prison.

During an earlier trial in the case, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor Damian Williams noted that defendant Guo Wengui promised his followers via social media that they would not suffer financial losses if they participated in his investment and cryptocurrency schemes. This promise allowed Guo to quickly and illegally raise more than a billion dollars between 2018 and 2023. Furthermore, Guo committed a series of interrelated fraudulent acts to defraud his loyal supporters of their funds. These funds were used for apparently legitimate business activities, but in reality the company was a start-up with no profitable activities or revenues. Guo embezzled this money for lavish expenses by himself, his partners and his family. Guo’s expenses included the purchase of a 50,000-square-foot mansion in New Jersey, a million-dollar red Lamborghini sports car and a $37 million luxury yacht.

According to prosecutors, a series of evidence was presented showing that Guo Wengui had transferred money from investors through a series of accounts. In an audio recording secretly made by a cooperating witness. Guo Wengui yelled at his subordinates for refusing to transfer $100 million to accounts he controlled as quickly as possible. The money came from investors in a membership company called G|Clubs, which Guo Wengui publicly claimed he had no control over. When a subordinate suggested that Guo get board approval to make the transfer appear more legitimate, Guo told the subordinate, “You son of a bitch, get out of here.” Prosecutors have also named Bannon and numerous other associates of Guo Wengui as co-conspirators in the case, although they have not yet been charged. Bannon helped Guo start some of the companies involved in Guo’s fraudulent scheme, publicly promoting them and even advising Guo on how to set them up to avoid SEC scrutiny.

Victims were promised a nice return on their investments. In addition, Guo promised investors a variety of generous benefits, such as discounts on vacations and access to exclusive events. Despite a steady stream of huge sums of money flowing into Guo’s companies and his foundation, he declared bankruptcy last year with less than $100,000 in personal assets, and Guo’s network collapsed. “We had complete confidence in him, but gradually discovered that he had never kept his promises,” the victims said.

In response to this case, we contacted Andrea Boggio, JSD of Stanford Law School. Dr. Andrea noted that Guo’s actions are undoubtedly scandalous. In this case, federal prosecutors mixed traditional corporate crime charges (mail and security fraud) with less commonly charged crimes (money laundering and bank fraud). The multi-indictment target is typical for federal prosecutors. The goal is to challenge various crimes so that if some crimes are lost due to lack of evidence, the case can still be brought. Multiple charges also give prosecutors more power and flexibility in plea bargaining because some charges can be dropped in exchange for a guilty plea on the rest. Finally, the publication for each individual cumulates with others, making the prosecution more severe.

Dr. Andrea further noted that Guo’s active promotion of his criminal scheme on his YouTube channel provided impeccable video evidence for the prosecution’s case. Additionally, DOJ’s Elizabeth has also spoken in previous interviews about the importance of justice, which is a matter of rights for all citizens. The significant prison sentence Guo faces, along with the forfeiture of all his assets in the United States, is intended to reaffirm the commitment to investor protection and the checks and balances in place to maintain a crucial engine of the U.S. economy hold: investments in private and public companies. A single case is insufficient, but still essential to cleanse the ecosystem of bad apples.