Self-Exiled Chinese Businessman Guo Wengui Sentenced to 30 Years in US Prison

A Twitter page of self-exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui on a computer screen in Beijing on Aug. 30, 2017. Andy Wong/AP PhotoGuo Wengui, a Chinese businessman who fled from China more than a decade ago, was sentenced on Monday to 30 years in a U.S. prison for defrauding his online followers of more than $1 billion.Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, became a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after moving to the United States in 2015, where he amassed a large online following. Federal prosecutors said that Guo defrauded thousands of victims who invested in his companies from 2018 to 2023 and spent the money on luxury goods, including a New Jersey mansion, a Lamborghini, and a yacht.Guo was arrested by U.S. officials in March 2023 on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. He was convicted in 2024 on nine of the 12 criminal counts against him.In sentencing Guo on June 29, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres said the defendant had “preyed on those seeking to bring democracy to China” by taking their money to fund his lavish lifestyle.Torres said that Guo took no responsibility for his actions. The judge ordered him to forfeit $889 million in restitution in addition to his 30-year prison sentence.Guo’s lawyers had argued in a court filing that he was the victim of the CCP’s “grand, pervasive, and life-threatening” pursuit of him. They alleged that the CCP recruited elites in U.S. business, entertainment, and politics to conspire against him.They said in presentence court papers that a lengthy prison term would only validate China’s smear campaign and “embolden further efforts to eliminate Chinese dissidents from public life,” while defendants in similar cases received prison terms of two to four years.The Epoch Times was unable to reach out to Guo’s defense lawyers for comment.Prosecutors alleged that Guo and his co-conspirators gained about $150 million through his so-called Himalaya Farm Alliance, a collective of informal groups located in cities around the world.The defendant also siphoned about $250 million through G|CLUBS, which claimed on its website to be “an exclusive, high-end membership program offering a full spectrum of services” and “a gateway to carefully curated world-class products, services and experiences.”Prosecutors said that Guo used G|CLUBS proceeds to buy a New Jersey mansion, various furniture and decorative items, including Chinese and Persian rugs worth about $978,000, a fireplace log cradle holder, and a custom-built Bugatti sports car.According to his lawyers, Guo’s family had been among the largest shareholders of China’s publicly traded securities company before he fled China. Guo became a target of Chinese government officials after exposing their alleged corruption, his lawyers said.Chinese authorities have accused him of rape, kidnapping, bribery, and other crimes, allegations that Guo has denied.The Associated Press contributed to this report.