A US federal court has sentenced exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui to 30 years in prison, after he was convicted of defrauding thousands of people out of more than $1bn. In July 2024, a jury unanimously found Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, guilty on nine of 12 charges, including securities offences, wire fraud and money laundering. The FBI arrested Guo, who is in his fifties, in March 2023 at his luxury Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park.
Exploitation of Democratic Hopes
At his sentencing hearing in New York on Monday, judge Analisa Torres said Guo had “dedicated himself to increasing his own wealth” as he “preyed” on people hoping for a democratic China. Torres imposed a forfeiture order on Guo of $889m, as she condemned his “exploitation of a philanthropic purpose, his history of intimidation of critics and his refusal to accept responsibility”. The Chinese businessman has maintained his innocence, saying he used the funds for political purposes.
From Property Tycoon to Political Dissident
Guo, who amassed a fortune as a property developer in China, sought asylum in the US in 2017 claiming political persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He later became an outspoken critic of the CCP and portrayed himself as a staunch defender of democracy. He also maintained ties with right-wing figures like Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of US president Donald Trump. Bannon was himself arrested in August 2020 aboard Guo's yacht for his role in embezzling funds from a scheme which promised to privately construct barriers along the US-Mexican border. He pleaded guilty to defrauding donors in February 2025, but avoided jail.
The Fraud Scheme
US authorities said that once Guo was in the US, he leveraged his online notoriety as a dissident to convince people to invest in his companies or projects, promising them lucrative returns and luxury services, but instead using the proceeds to fund his lavish lifestyle. At Monday's trial, attended by more than 100 of his supporters, prosecutor Ryan Finkel said Guo is “not a democratic activist, he is a con artist, a scammer and a thief”.
Associate Also Sentenced
A former associate of Guo's, Yvette Wang, with whom he formed a lobbying group opposing the CCP, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison last year for her role in the scheme.
