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☆ Guo Wengui chief of staff Yvette Wang pleads guilty to $1 billion fraud conspiracy in New York
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui hold a news conference on November 20, 2018 in New York, on the death of of tycoon Wang Jian in France on July 3, 2018. The chief of staff to controversial exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui pleaded guilty in New York on Friday to a fraud conspiracy that swindled more than $1 billion from hundreds of thousands of victims around the world, prosecutors said. Yvette Wang's plea came weeks before the 53-year-old Guo is set to stand trial in Manhattan federal court for related charges. Wang was scheduled to stand trial with Guo in that case before her plea. She faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison for the charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Persons: Guo Wengui, Wang Jian, Yvette Wang's, Guo, Wang, Steve Bannon, Damian Williams Organizations: Trump White House, Manhattan U.S Locations: New York, France, Manhattan, United States

☆ Top aide admits to $1 billion fraud conspiracy ahead of Chinese mogul's trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A former aide to Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui has pleaded guilty to fraud. Yvette Wang admitted to conspiracy weeks before her ex-boss is set to stand trial. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementYvette Wang, a former aide to indicted Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, pleaded guilty to fraud, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Persons: Guo Wengui, Yvette Wang, Guo, —, Wang, William Je Organizations: Service, Department of Justice, Business

REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File PhotoNEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried will prepare for his fraud trial from a Brooklyn jail where inmates ranging from convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell to Honduras' former president have complained of subpar conditions. In recent years, MDC has been plagued by persistent staffing shortages, power outages and maggots in inmates' food. Earlier this year, a guard pleaded guilty to accepting bribes to smuggle in drugs. It is now the jail housing detainees awaiting federal trials in New York City, after the Manhattan Correctional Center closed in 2021 for improvements. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sam Bankman, David Dee Delgado, Fried, Ghislaine Maxwell, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein, Hannibal Lecter's, Epstein, Kaplan, Juan Orlando Hernandez, Guo Wengui, Hernandez, Luc Cohen, Noeleen Walder, Daniel Wallis Organizations: FTX, REUTERS, District, Detention, MDC, The U.S . Bureau of Prisons, Manhattan Correctional Center, MCC, Fox, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Brooklyn, Honduras, Palo Alto , California, Brooklyn's, United States, Florida, The, Putnam County, Bahamas, Chinese, New York

The long-awaited rule is expected to require that real estate professionals such as title insurers report the identities of the beneficial owners of companies buying real estate in cash to the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Criminals have for decades anonymously hidden ill-gotten gains in real estate, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in March, adding that as much as $2.3 billion was laundered through U.S. real estate between 2015 and 2020. That debate has slowed down FinCEN's work on the real estate reporting rule, one of the sources said. PATCHWORKWhile banks have long been required to understand the source of customer funds and report suspicious transactions, no such rules exist nationwide for the real estate industry. FinCEN implemented GTOs in 2016 after the New York Times revealed that nearly half of luxury real estate was bought by anonymous shell companies.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Erica Hanichak, FinCEN, Jodi Vittori, Guo Wengui, Guo, Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Howard, David Szakonyi, Luc Cohen, Chris Prentice, Amy Stevens, Michelle Price, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Treasury Department, FACT Coalition, Association, New York Times, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Nardello, Government, Office, George Washington University, New, Thomson Locations: New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Chinese, Jersey, Manhattan

☆ Who paid the $500,000 to bail George Santos out of jail? We'll probably find out on Thursday.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of three people are on the hook for $500,000 to keep Rep. George Santos out of jail. On Thursday at noon Eastern Time, documents revealing the identities of the three people who paid the scandal-plagued congressman's $500,000 bond will be unsealed after US District Judge Joanna Seybert denied Santos' most recent appeal. The judge allowed Santos to walk free instead of going to jail ahead of trial on the condition that he stays in Washington, DC and New York, and agrees to a $500,000 bond. But in a highly unusual decision, the magistrate judge who imposed the bond allowed the identities of those bail sponsors to remain secret. One of the three people who originally agreed to sponsor the bond already dropped out, Murray said.

Persons: George Santos, —, Joanna Seybert, Santos, Joseph Murray, Murray, Guo Wengui, GUO Organizations: Rep, Service Locations: George Santos of New York, Washington , DC, New York

☆ Is indicted Chinese billionaire tycoon Guo Wengui secretly bankrolling George Santos's bail?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

In recent months, he's become supportive of exiled Chinese tycoon and Republican patron Guo Wengui. There's a very strong chance that one person putting up the money — directly or indirectly — is the jailed exiled Chinese billionaire tycoon Guo Wengui. Even Ghislaine Maxwell and SBF didn't get this kind of secrecySantos certainly doesn't want us to know who these bond sponsors are. (An affinity for using multiple names, which are variations of each other, is something Guo shares with George Anthony Devolder Santos.) So, is Guo one of Santos's bail sponsors?

Persons: George Santos's, you'll, Santos, he's, Guo Wengui, —, George Santos, Ghislaine Maxwell, SBF didn't, Joanna Seybert, Jeremy A, Chase, Alexandra Settelmayer, Davis Wright Tremaine, Lokman Vural, Sam Bankman, Larry Kramer, Andreas Paepcke —, Lewis Kaplan, Jeffrey Epstein, Epstein, Maxwell, Guo, Steve Bannon, Forbes, Miles Kwok, Carlo Allegri, Bannon, Miles Guo, George Anthony Devolder Santos, Cait Corrigan, Santos didn't, Joe Murray, Guo didn't, Santos doesn't Organizations: Service, Rep, Republican, New York Times, US, Federal, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Stanford University, REUTERS, New Federal, Chinese Communist Party, Law Foundation, Law Society, Santos, Justice Department Locations: New York, Long, Santos, Washington, DC, Central Islip, Central Islip , New York, Manhattan, United States, China, New Federal State of China, New Federal State

☆ Chinese businessman Guo Wengui appeals bail denial in fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Guo Wengui, once a business associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump's adviser Steve Bannon, was arrested in March. Guo pleaded not guilty to 11 charges including securities fraud, wire fraud and concealing money laundering. The 52-year-old defendant, whose other names include Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Kwok, is a prominent critic of China's Communist Party. He left China in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown under President Xi Jinping. Bannon was arrested in a 2020 fraud case while aboard Guo's yacht.

☆ Fugees rapper convicted in US over lobbying campaigns with Malaysian financier
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Nathan HowardWASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - A jury on Wednesday convicted Grammy Award-winning rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel of The Fugees hip hop group on criminal charges that he conspired with a Malaysian financier to orchestrate a series of foreign lobbying campaigns aimed at influencing the U.S. government under two presidents. Low, who also faces separate federal charges in New York that he embezzled $4.5 billion from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, remains at large. Because federal election law prohibits foreigners from donating to U.S. campaigns, prosecutors said Michel masked the source of the funds. "Once he gave me the money, it was my discretion how I spent the money because it's my money," Michel told the jury, describing the payment as "free money." On whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, Michel told jurors that his attorney George Higgenbotham never told him it was required by law.

☆ Pras Michel found guilty in scheme to help China influence US government
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In his defense, Michel testified he never used the money at Low’s direction but instead saw it as his money which he could spend however he wanted. According to the prosecutors, Low directed over $100 million to Michel to help push the government, including Trump, to drop its investigation into Low. Prosecutors also say Michel advocated for the extradition of a Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui, on behalf of the Chinese government. Michel, however, testified he only tried to help Low find an attorney in the US and only told authorities about Guo because he thought he was a criminal. Low, who was charged along with Michel, is believed to be in China.

☆ Guo Wengui Denied Bail While Awaiting Trial in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A courtroom sketch shows Guo Wengui at a courthouse in New York. Photo: JANE ROSENBERG/REUTERSA New York federal judge on Thursday ordered wealthy Chinese businessman Guo Wengui jailed while he awaits trial on fraud and money-laundering charges, calling him a flight risk and saying the Justice Department’s evidence against him was strong. Mr. Guo, who garnered attention by accusing Beijing of corruption from his Manhattan penthouse, was arrested and charged last month with a $1 billion fraud scheme. Federal prosecutors in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office alleged he took advantage of the hundreds of thousands of followers he amassed online by soliciting investments in a cryptocurrency he developed, a media company and other ventures. He spent some of the proceeds on lavish purchases, including a $26 million home in New Jersey, a yacht and a Ferrari, prosecutors allege.

NEW YORK, April 20 (Reuters) - An exiled Chinese businessman charged by U.S. prosecutors with leading a more than $1 billion fraud will remain in jail after a federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday rejected a proposed $25 million bail package. Guo had also proposed 24-hour guard, and being subjected to detention with GPS monitoring at his wife's Connecticut home. He had also been a business associate of former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who was arrested in a 2020 fraud case while aboard Guo's yacht. In seeking bail, Guo's lawyer Stephen Cook said Guo would remain in the United States if released on bond "because the risk to his life is simply too great for him to leave." The defendant has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges including securities fraud, wire fraud and concealing money laundering.

☆ Fugees star says money from Malaysian financier was for Obama photo, not campaign donation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Michel faces criminal conspiracy, foreign lobbying and campaign finance charges for allegedly plotting with Low to attempt to influence the administrations of Obama and former President Donald Trump. Michel said he used some of the funds for three friends to attend $40,000-a-plate fundraisers for Obama. "When you received the money from Jho Low, you used it to make political contributions," federal prosecutor John Keller said in a Washington court. "Once he gave me the money, it was my discretion how I spent the money because it's my money." Michel is accused of involvement with Low in three schemes, for which prosecutors say he was paid millions of dollars.

☆ Steve Bannon, who has ties to an indicted Chinese billionaire, says Elon Musk's 'paymasters' are Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Steve Bannon accused Elon Musk of having "paymasters" in Beijing. This isn't the first time Bannon has accused Musk of having links to the Chinese Communist Party. This isn't the first time Bannon has — without substantiation or evidence — accused Musk of serving the Chinese government. Elon Musk's ties with ChinaMusk has spared no effort to create business ties with China. Steve Bannon has been linked to China, tooMeanwhile, Bannon has long been associated with the indicted Chinese billionaire, Miles Guo Wengui.

☆ Ex-DOJ lawyer tells jury he met with Chinese to further illegal lobbying campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

George Higginbotham testified that he made money on the side while working at the Justice Department by offering legal advice to Michel, a long-time friend. But he did so anyway, telling the jury he let his friendship with Michel cloud his judgment. "This could get me in a lot of trouble," he told the jury he recalled thinking, adding that his actions were "definitely outside of official lines." Higginbotham, who pleaded guilty in 2018 for his role in the foreign influence campaign, testified that Justice Department investigators later found out about his meeting and questioned him. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio testifies in Fugees rapper's lobbying trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DiCaprio is one of several prominent figures linked to Low, who is suspected of embezzling $4.5 billion from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Michel faces 11 criminal counts for trying to influence the administrations of Obama and former President Donald Trump. Prosecutors said Michel agreed to funnel money into Obama's 2012 re-election campaign and hide the source of the funds. Prosecutors said Michel later waged an illegal influence campaign to persuade the Trump administration to stop investigating Low. Michel and other co-conspirators are also accused of lobbying the Trump administration at China's behest to return Guo to China.

☆ A fugitive Chinese billionaire and Steve Bannon ally wants to auction sperm and eggs from unvaccinated donors on Gettr, say reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui wants to auction sperm and eggs from unvaccinated donors. Guo, an ally of Steve Bannon and other pro-Trump Republicans, was arrested in New York for fraud in March. "Sperm and eggs from our fellow fighters will be auctioned on our Gettr platform between June 1 and June 6," Guo said, per AFP. The billionaire claimed to have gathered nearly 6,000 eggs and "millions" of sperm from unvaccinated donors – and said the sale would include his sperm too. Gettr, where conspiracy theories and misinformation run rampantThe mysterious Chinese billionaire wanted in China over fraud charges.

[1/5] Grammy award-winning Fugees rapper Prakazrel (Pras) Michel, who is facing criminal charges in an alleged illegal lobbying campaign, arrives for opening arguments in his trial at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., March 30, 2023. "This is a case about foreign money, influence and concealment," Lockhart said during her opening statement in Washington on Thursday. "Through this scheme, the defendant duped the Obama campaign," Lockhart told the jury. For his work on these two lobbying campaigns on behalf of Low and China, prosecutors said Michel was paid $70 million. Low remains a fugitive in the Michel case.

☆ Fugees rapper Pras Michel was 'willing to break any laws necessary to get paid' in alleged international fraud scheme, prosecutor said
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The conspiracy and fraud trial of American rapper Pras Michel kicked off on Thursday. Prosecutors alleged that Michel was involved in an international scheme to influence the US government. Michel is accused of working with Malaysian businessman and fugitive Jho Low. "Low had money to burn and the defendant was willing to cash in at any turn," Lockhart said. McMaster, casino mogul Steve Wynn, and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in the 2013 film "The Wolf Of Wall Street" that Low helped fund.

☆ The outlandish life of Guo Wengui, once one of China’s richest men and Steve Bannon confidant whom the DOJ accuses of a billion-dollar fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese businessman Guo Wengui has been arrested on fraud charges. The controversial billionaire, once one of China's richest men, has positioned himself as an activist trying "to expose the leviathan Chinese mafia state." An ally of Steve Bannon and other pro-Trump Republicans, Guo has also variously portrayed himself as a rapper, online influencer, crypto guru and real estate mogul. The enigma around the billionaire deepened this week after US authorities charged the property tycoon with orchestrating a billion-dollar fraud. Much of his background is still shrouded in mystery and Guo's exact purpose and loyalties are the subject of speculation and conspiracy theories.

☆ Exiled Chinese businessman Guo charged with fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsExiled Chinese businessman Guo charged with fraudPostedThe U.S. government on Wednesday charged Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese businessman with ties to former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, with leading a complex conspiracy to defraud Guo's online followers out of more than $1 billion. Ryan Brooks reports.

☆ Miles Guo, the Chinese tycoon charged with defrauding his fans of more than $1 billion, once starred in a music video where he shadowboxed on a luxury yacht to lyrics like 'take down the CCP'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Guo, was arrested on 11 counts of fraud and money laundering. Guo, also known as Miles Guo, is credited on Apple Music and Spotify as the artist behind at least 14 hip-hop, pop, and lo-fi songs. One of the political activist's most well-known works is a music video on YouTube, titled "Fight For Hong Kong." Taking down the CCP, the evil CCP, is the only way for us to live without fear," Guo raps in Mandarin. Another video sees Guo hyping up Himalaya Coin, or Hcoin, a cryptocurrency that Guo and Bannon promoted.

☆ Guo Wengui Charged in Alleged $1 Billion Fraud Conspiracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( James Fanelli | Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Guo Wengui , a former real-estate developer, has said he fled China in 2014 after hearing that a state security official to whom he was close would soon be arrested. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with duping investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars to bankroll the purchase of a sprawling mansion, a 145-foot luxury yacht and other lavish items. Mr. Guo, also known as Kwok Ho Wan, was arrested Wednesday morning in New York and is charged with 11 counts of fraud and money laundering, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York federal court. Prosecutors said he orchestrated a $1 billion scheme that preyed on hundreds of thousands of his online followers to purchase stock in his media company, fund a farm loan program and join a luxury-services club.

Former real-estate developer Guo Wengui has said he fled China in 2014 after hearing that a state security official to whom he was close would be arrested. Chinese businessman Guo Wengui , who gained attention by lobbing corruption allegations at Beijing from a Manhattan penthouse and later launched a media company with Trump confidant Steve Bannon , was arrested Wednesday and accused of orchestrating a $1 billion fraud. Mr. Guo took advantage of the hundreds of thousands of followers he amassed online, prosecutors alleged, by soliciting investments in his cryptocurrency, media and other companies. Instead, he used the money to buy a $26 million home in New Jersey, a yacht, a Ferrari and a $36,000 mattress, among other items, said the indictment, which charged Mr. Guo with 11 counts of fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors said they seized $634 million in criminal proceeds and assets that included a Lamborghini.

☆ Feds arrest Chinese tycoon linked to Steve Bannon and charge him with defrauding online fans to fund his yacht, Ferrari, and $36,000 mattresses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A Chinese tycoon was arrested and charged with defrauding his online followers out of over $1 billion. Feds say Guo Wengui used stolen money to buy a $3.5 million Ferrari and two $36,000 mattresses. Wengui is facing various fraud and money laundering charges, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Wednesday. He allegedly asked his followers to invest in or give money to GTV, the Himalaya Farm Alliance, and the Himalaya Exchange. He also allegedly used the money to finance a $37 million luxury yacht, according to the charges.

☆ DOJ charges Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, associate of Steve Bannon, in $1 billion fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon greets fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui before introducing him at a news conference on November 20, 2018 in New York. The controversial exiled Chinese billionaire businessman Guo Wengui — an associate of former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon — was arrested in New York on Wednesday for orchestrating what federal prosecutors called a more than $1 billion fraud conspiracy that duped online followers with promises of outsized investment returns. Former President Donald Trump months later pardoned Bannon in that case, shortly before Trump left the White House. IThe defendants are charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering in the criminal case. Both Guo and Je face ossible sentences of up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

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