Guo Wengui Sentenced to 30 Years in U.S. Prison for Massive Fraud Scheme

Self-exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Guo and Ho Wan Kwok, has been sentenced to 30 years in a United States federal prison after being convicted of a large-scale financial fraud that authorities say defrauded more than 1,000 people worldwide of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The sentence was handed down on Monday by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in a Manhattan federal court. In addition to the prison term, Guo was ordered to forfeit $889 million and pay restitution.

A federal jury found Guo guilty in 2024 on multiple charges, including fraud, securities violations, wire fraud, and money laundering. He was arrested by the FBI in 2023 at his luxury apartment overlooking Central Park in New York City.

During sentencing, Judge Torres said Guo exploited supporters who believed in his pro-democracy message, using their investments to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

“He preyed on those seeking to bring democracy to China,” the judge said.

Guo briefly addressed the court, citing health concerns and maintaining that his mission in the United States was to oppose the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He denied intentionally harming investors.

Judge Torres also read statements from victims who described losing their life savings, suffering emotional distress, and experiencing strained family relationships after investing in Guo’s ventures. She said Guo had shown no genuine acceptance of responsibility for the losses.

One victim, Wei Chen, who testified during the trial, told the court that Guo’s actions had “destroyed” her life and severely affected her family.

Federal prosecutors had requested a sentence of at least 30 years, arguing that Guo orchestrated an “astounding” fraud between 2018 and 2023 that devastated hundreds of victims financially, emotionally, and psychologically.

Guo’s legal team argued that he had been relentlessly targeted by the Chinese government because of his political activism. They contended that a lengthy prison sentence would reinforce Beijing’s campaign against Chinese dissidents and encourage further efforts to silence government critics abroad.

Guo made his fortune in China’s real estate sector before fleeing to the United States in 2015. After relocating to New York, he became a prominent critic of the CCP and maintained close ties with former White House adviser Steve Bannon. Together, they helped establish the New Federal State of China, an organization that opposes the Chinese Communist Party.

Bannon was separately arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht in connection with an unrelated fraud case involving fundraising for a U.S.-Mexico border wall project.