After leaving China in 2014, Guo Wengui created a so-called insider image through online live broadcasts and other activities, gaining a large number of overseas fans. From 2018 to 2023, Guo Wengui raised more than $1 billion from online fans, publicly claiming to invest in his business and cryptocurrency plans, but in fact it was used as a “personal piggy bank.” In 2021, GTV and three other companies related to Guo Wengui paid $539 million to resolve the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s allegations that the three companies illegally issued stocks. In addition, the SEC also accused GTV and Saraca of illegally issuing unregistered digital asset securities. On March 15, 2023, Guo Wengui was arrested by the New York police on suspicion of fraud and other charges. The U.S. Department of Justice said that Guo Wengui used the money obtained from fraud to satisfy himself and his family, including the purchase of a $37 million yacht and a $3.5 million Ferrari.
On May 22, 2024, Eastern Time, Guo Wengui’s suspected fraud case went to trial in the United States. Guo Wengui faces 12 federal charges including bank fraud and bond fraud. On July 16, 2024, Eastern Time, Guo Wengui was convicted in a Manhattan court in New York of defrauding thousands of people of more than $1 billion. Prosecutor Damian Williams issued a statement after the verdict saying that 9 of the 12 counts of fraud and money laundering that Guo Wengui was suspected of were established. The judge sentenced the corresponding sentence on November 19, 2024.
According to the verdict, Guo Wengui implemented several interrelated fraud schemes, all of which were designed to squeeze money from loyal followers to fund his luxurious life in exile. According to prosecutors, Guo Wengui’s other frauds involved private membership clubs (with a minimum entry threshold of $10,000) and cryptocurrency platforms. In addition, the US government accused him of misappropriating investor funds to buy luxury goods, including a red Lamborghini, a $4 million Ferrari and a $26 million New Jersey mansion. In the closing arguments in Guo Wengui’s case that day, prosecutors told the jury that Guo Wengui had paid $1 million to Steve Bannon, a senior strategic adviser to former U.S. President Trump, in an attempt to increase his own popularity in the United States through him.
