U.S. Charges Exiled Chinese Businessman With $1 Billion Fraud

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York today charged exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with defrauding thousands of followers out of more than $1 billion.

Guo – also known as “Miles Kwok – “is charged with lining his pockets with the money he stole, including buying himself, and his close relatives, a 50,000 square foot mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari, and even two $36,000 mattresses, and financing a $37 million luxury yacht,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement Wednesday.

In one instance, Guo and his financial advisor allegedly diverted $100 million of investor funds raised by GTV Media Group to a company that is owned by Guo’s son, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a complaint against Guo today. Guo allegedly also misused $40 million of investor funds to purchase and renovate a mansion and $3.5 million to purchase a Ferrari for his son, the SEC said.

Guo, who reports have linked to Trump-era White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon as well former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, was arrested early on Wednesday at his $32.5 million penthouse apartment in a building on 60th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York, the Guardian reported. A fire broke out at the same address in the afternoon when FBI agents were inside Guo’s home, media reported; the bureau is now investigating whether the fire was related to the arrest, the Guardian said.

The Guardian noted a 2022 report in the New Yorker magazine that described how Guo’s application to buy expensive New York property included “a personal recommendation from Tony Blair, Britain’s former prime minister, [who] said, ‘Miles is honest, forthright and has impeccable taste.’”

Guo also faces charges in connection in the raising of hundreds of millions of dollars from investors through a crypto asset security referred to as “H-Coin,” “Himalaya Coin,” or “HCN” and a related purported stablecoin, the SEC said.

Guo reportedly started his career as a public servant in eastern China’s Shandong Province. His highest-profile investment back in China is Pangu Plaza, an office and seven-star hotel complex in Beijing that overlooks the Olympic Stadium.

@rflannerychina