Fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui holds a press conference on November 20, 2018 in New York over the death of tycoon Wang Jian in France on July 3, 2018.
Don Emmert | AFP | Getty Images
The chief of staff of controversial exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui pleaded guilty Friday in New York to a fraud conspiracy that bilked more than $1 billion from hundreds of thousands of victims across the world, prosecutors said.
Yvette Wang’s plea came weeks before Guo, 53, was scheduled to go on trial in Manhattan federal court on related charges. Wang was scheduled to stand trial with Guo in the case before her plea.
Prosecutors accuse Guo, an associate of former Trump White House aide Steve Bannon, of misleading his online followers with promises of outsized investment returns. Guo pleaded not guilty.
Wang, 45, agreed to pay $1.4 billion in restitution to the United States and forfeit the same amount, according to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10.
“Yvette Wang played a leadership role in a large and complex scheme to defraud thousands of people,” Williams said in a statement.
“Through false promises and lies, this scheme raised more than $1 billion from innocent victims across the country and around the world. Wang inflicted pain and loss on so many people , and she will now be held accountable for the harm she and others have caused,” Williams said.
When Guo was arrested last year, prosecutors said he used some of the money raised through his company GTV Media and other entities to buy a 50,000 square foot mansion in New Jersey, a $37 million yacht, a $3.5 million Ferrari for his son, a $140,000 Bosendorfer piano, and two Hasten 2000T mattresses that cost a whopping $36,000 each.
Prosecutors seized more than $650 million in allegedly fraudulent proceeds from 21 different bank accounts, as well as a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster automobile and other assets.
Three Guo-linked companies, including GTV Media, agreed in September 2022 to pay nearly $540 million to settle SEC civil allegations over illegal stock and digital asset offerings.
Guo is known by various names, including Miles Guo and Miles Kwok, Brother Seven and The Principal.
He has resided in the United States since 2015. He reportedly fled China to avoid corruption charges.
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