Search Articles
MANHATTAN (CN) — Guo Wengui, a self-exiled, MAGA-linked media mogul from China, was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday after he was convicted of ripping off his supporters to the tune of $1 billion while espousing anti-communist views.
Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, was convicted on nine fraud and conspiracy counts and acquitted of wire and securities fraud charges related to GTV, a Chinese media platform and anti-censorship venture he founded with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon was arrested aboard Guo’s yacht in 2020 on fraud charges.
Shortly after Guo’s March 2023 arrest, his penthouse at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan caught fire while investigators were still inside.
At Guo’s seven-week trial in 2024, prosecutors said he built an online following through his outspoken opposition to the Chinese Communist Party, then cheated supporters out of their savings through sham opportunities tied to his businesses.
Guo made false promises on livestreams, prosecutors said, guaranteeing followers big returns if they put money into his projects and assuring them he’d be personally responsible for any losses.
“If anyone loses money, please come to me. I will be responsible,” Guo said in one video broadcast played to the court.
Numerous investors testified otherwise. One witness, Jenny Li, said she took out a second mortgage on her home to invest $100,000 in Guo’s businesses, including GTV, and was left with nothing but a $20,000 refund from the Securities and Exchange Commission. “Miles Guo stole my money,” she testified.
“He’s just a liar,” said another investor witness, Minran Ru. “He’s very good at acting and cheating.”
Guo’s lawyers said their client’s wealth flaunting was intended to “spit in the eye of the CCP.”
“It is not a crime to be wealthy,” Guo’s attorney Sidhardha Kamaraju said during summations.
Guo left China in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown led by President Xi Jinping that ensnared people close to Guo, including a top intelligence official. Chinese authorities seek Guo’s return on claims of rape, kidnapping, bribery and other offenses.
Follow @NinaPullano
Follow @ninapullano.bsky.socialSubscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.
