Fall of a Tycoon: Guo Wengui jailed 30 years in $1bn U.S. fraud scandal

Self-exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Guo, Miles Kwok and Ho Wan Kwok, has been sentenced to 30 years in a United States federal prison after being convicted of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that prosecutors said defrauded thousands of followers of more than $1 billion.

The sentence was handed down on Monday by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in a federal court in Manhattan, New York, nearly two years after Guo was convicted on multiple fraud-related charges.

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of approximately $889 million, describing the case as one of extraordinary financial deception that caused devastating losses to victims around the world.

Guo, once regarded as one of China’s wealthiest businessmen, fled China and settled in the United States in 2017, where he built a large following as a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Prosecutors said he exploited that reputation to persuade supporters to invest in a series of fraudulent ventures, including GTV Media Group, the Himalaya Exchange cryptocurrency platform and membership programmes that promised lucrative returns. Instead, investigators said the money was diverted to finance an extravagant lifestyle.

Court documents showed that Guo spent investors’ funds on luxury properties, a superyacht, expensive vehicles and designer items while thousands of supporters lost substantial portions of their savings. Prosecutors argued that many victims invested because they believed they were supporting pro-democracy causes and Guo’s campaign against the Chinese government.

During sentencing, Judge Torres criticised Guo for exploiting the hopes and trust of people who believed in his political message, saying his actions inflicted enormous financial and emotional harm on victims. Federal prosecutors had sought a sentence of at least 30 years, comparing the scale of the fraud to some of the biggest financial crimes in recent U.S. history.

Guo maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings and told the court he intends to appeal the conviction. His lawyers argued that he had been targeted because of his political activism against Beijing and maintained that his activities were motivated by a desire to promote democracy in China.

Prosecutors rejected that argument, insisting the case was based entirely on overwhelming evidence of fraud rather than politics.

The businessman was arrested by the FBI in March 2023 and, in July 2024, was convicted on nine criminal counts, including securities fraud, wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering. His former chief of staff, Yvette Wang, was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the scheme.