Guo Wengui Convicted of Fraud: Lavish Lifestyle From Followers' Investments

Guo Wengui, a Chinese businessman living in exile, was convicted for defrauding his online followers of hundreds of millions of dollars, promising lucrative returns from investments and cryptocurrency schemes to challenge Beijing's government. The money was allegedly spent on luxurious items. He faces decades in prison.

Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese businessman hostile to Beijing's communist regime, was convicted on Tuesday in his U.S. trial for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from online followers.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan revealed that Guo raised over $1 billion by assuring his social media followers that their investments, which he would purportedly use to oppose the Chinese government, would be safe. Instead, the ex-real estate mogul allegedly spent the money on opulent items, including a New Jersey mansion, a red Lamborghini, and a yacht.

Prosecutor Juliana Murray stated, 'He preyed on the pliable, followers who believed the messages he espoused in his hours of broadcasts,' addressing the jury on July 11. The trial, which lasted seven weeks, saw Guo pleading not guilty to 12 criminal counts, including racketeering.

Guo's defense attorneys argued that he was a passionate dissident using wealth to critique the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), urging jurors to deliver a measured judgment. 'Mr. Guo didn't care about the money,' argued defense lawyer Sidhardha Kamaraju, 'He cared about the movement.'

Prosecutor Murray rebutted that Guo cared about the anti-CCP movement because 'it was his personal piggybank.' In earlier arguments, prosecutor Ryan Finkel presented videos showing Guo promoting investments, often from a lavish yacht deck. Jurors even handled keys to Guo's Lamborghini seized at his Connecticut estate.

Defense claimed the luxury assets were part of a membership club for followers, not Guo's personal property. Guo, detained since March 2023, might face decades in prison under U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres' sentence.

Prosecutors also illustrated Guo's connections, showing a 2018 video of Steve Bannon, ex-advisor to President Trump, endorsing Guo's ventures. Bannon was arrested on Guo's yacht in an unrelated fraud case in 2020 and later pardoned by Trump.

(With inputs from agencies.)