Weidong Guan, who also goes by Bill Guan, was charged by the Department of Justice (DoJ) for participating in a scheme that laundered $67 million in illicitly obtained funds. The scheme depended on cryptocurrency and prepaid debit cards to funnel funds into Epoch Times’ bank accounts as well as Guan’s personal bank and crypto accounts.
The Epoch Times is a global media platform catering to conservative audiences and is often known for bashing the Chinese government. However, the media outlet was not named in the indictment – it was referred to as Guan’s place of occupation where he serves as the CFO.
In a press release, the DOJ stated, “From at least in or about 2020, through in or about May 2024, GUAN, while working as the Chief Financial Officer of a multinational media company headquartered in New York, New York (the “Media Company”), conspired with others to participate in a sprawling, transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds to bank accounts in the names of the Media Company and related entities (together, with the Media Company, the “Media Entities”).”
The Epoch Times has since suspended Guan, with a spokesperson saying, “The company intends to and will fully cooperate with any investigation dealing with the allegations against Mr. Guan.” They further added, “In the interim, although Mr. Guan is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the company has suspended him until this matter is resolved.”
Guan procured crime proceeds stemming from “fraudulently obtained insurance benefits and other crimes”, according to the DoJ. He conspired with others from Epoch Times’ “Make Money Online” wing, exchanging cryptocurrency for the funds at 70 to 80 cents per dollar. The crypto was then converted to fiat and routed to Epoch Times’ accounts using stolen personal information.
The scheme is said to have operated from about 2020 to about May 2024 – a period in which Guan and his associates laundered anywhere between $15 million to $67 million to pump Epoch Times’ annual earnings up tremendously. Some fund trails can also allegedly be traced back to Guan’s personal bank and crypto accounts.
Guan is charged with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering and two counts of bank fraud, collectively carrying up to 80 years of imprisonment in total. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges.
Image by Klaus Hausmann from Pixabay
