Guo Wengui chief of staff Yvette Wang pleads guilty to $1 billion fraud conspiracy in New York

The
chief
of
staff
to
controversial
exiled
Chinese
businessman

Guo
Wengui
pleaded
guilty
in
New
York
on
Friday
to
a
fraud
conspiracy
that
swindled
more
than
$1
billion
from
hundreds
of
thousands
of
victims
around
the
world,
prosecutors
said.

Yvette
Wang’s
plea
came
weeks
before
the
53-year-old
Guo
is
set
to
stand
trial
in
Manhattan
federal
court
for
related
charges.
Wang
was
scheduled
to
stand
trial
with
Guo
in
that
case
before
her
plea.

Prosecutors
accuse
Guo,
an
associate
of
former
Trump
White
House
aide
Steve
Bannon,
of
duping
his
online
followers
with
promises
of
outsized
investment
returns.
Guo
has
pleaded
not
guilty.

Wang,
45,
agreed
to
pay
$1.4
billion
in
restitution
to
the
United
States
and
to
forfeit
the
same
amount
of
money,
according
to
Manhattan
U.S.
Attorney
Damian
Williams.

She
faces
a
maximum
possible
sentence
of
10
years
in
prison
for
the
charges
of
conspiracy
to
commit
wire
fraud
and
conspiracy
to
commit
money
laundering.

She
is
due
to
be
sentenced
Sept.
10.

“Yvette
Wang
played
a
leadership
role
in
a
broad
and
complex
scheme
to
defraud
thousands,”
Williams
said
in
a
statement.

“Through
false
promises
and
lies,
this
scheme
collected
more
than
$1
billion
from
innocent
victims
located
throughout
the
country
and
the
world. Wang
inflicted
pain
and
loss
on
so
many,
and
she
will
now
be
held
to
account
for
the
harm
she
and
others
caused,”
Williams
said.

When
Guo
was
arrested
last
year,
prosecutors
said
he
had
used
some
of
the
money
raised
through
his
company

GTV
Media
and
other
entities
to
buy
a
50,000-square-foot
New
Jersey
mansion,
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
apiece.

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
companies
linked
to
Guo,
including

GTV
Media,
in
September
2022
agreed
to
pay
nearly
$540
million
to
settle
civil
allegations
by
the

SEC
of
making
illegal
offerings
of

stock
and
digital
assets.

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.