Epoch Times CFO Is Charged in Alleged $67 Million Global Money Laundering Scheme
By MSN News. The chief financial officer of conservative global news outlet The Epoch Times has been arrested and charged with leading a years long scheme to launder at least $67 million in illicit funds, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The scheme — which involved cryptocurrency, tens of thousands of prepaid debit cards, fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits and stolen personal information — fueled a massive increase in The Epoch Times’ reported annual revenue, prosecutors alleged.
Weidong “Bill” Guan, 61, is charged in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of bank fraud.
Guan was arrested Sunday morning, and pleaded not guilty on Monday afternoon before a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan, according to a court notice. He was released on a $3 million personal recognizance bond, and his travel is restricted to parts of New York and New Jersey, among other restrictions.
Guan “conspired with others to benefit himself, the media company, and its affiliates by laundering tens of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits and other crime proceeds,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. (Read more from “Epoch Times CFO Is Charged in Alleged $67 Million Global Money Laundering Scheme” HERE)
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Feds Charge Far-Right Media Executive With Money-Laundering Scheme
By The Hill. A spokesperson for The Epoch Times confirmed Guan is suspended from his post until the matter is resolved, noting he is “innocent until proven guilty” . . .
Guan, from about 2020 through May 2024, allegedly managed the company’s “Make Money Online Team,” or MMO Team, located in a foreign office of the company, prosecutors said. The team is accused of using cryptocurrency under Guan’s direction to purchase tens of millions of dollars in money acquired through crimes, including fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits.
Upon purchasing these crime proceeds, members of the MMO Team used stolen personal identification information to open accounts, cryptocurrency accounts and bank accounts to transfer the cash into the bank accounts of the media company and “related entities,” the indictment stated. Once in those accounts, the cash was allegedly laundered again through other accounts held by the entities, Guan’s personal bank and cryptocurrency.
The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 by John Tang, who has ties to Falun Gong, a religious group that was persecuted in China. The newsletter was started in opposition of the Chinese Communist Party and is now known for its far-right conspiracy theories and support of former President Trump. . .
The spokesperson for The Epoch Times told The Hill the outlet has “a guiding principle that elevates integrity in its dealings above everything else,” and said the company intends to fully cooperate with any investigation into Guan. (Read more from “Feds Charge Far-Right Media Executive With Money-Laundering Scheme” HERE)
