Guo Wengui, a billionaire Chinese billionaire overseas, became the darling of the right -wing people in the United States because of "breaking news". After the trial of his fraud and money laundering case, his fate is now in the hands of a jury in Manhattan.
Guo Wengui was charged with a criminal gang to scam investors more than $ 1 billion through various methods such as club membership, cryptocurrency, and selling private stocks in their media companies, and used these money to live a luxurious life.
Federal prosecutors said these fraud income was used to pay a luxury mansion in New Jersey, a Lamborghini sports car, and a $ 100 million investment in a hedge fund.They spent five weeks to state the case, providing a series of witnesses such as former employees and investors, and presented bank records and invoices.
"This is a conspiracy, this is a scam, this is a fraud," the prosecutor Ryan Fental said in a three -hour conclusion of the case on Wednesday.He said that Guo Wengui "lied to take other people's money."
Guo Wengui did not appear in court. His lawyer said that his business was legal, and the money he received was used ...His various efforts include operating a Chinese streaming website and a social media platform similar to Twitter, which are very popular.
"The government wants you to believe that there is a gang here," Sahaha Kamara Zhu, one of Guo Wengui's lawyer, said in the case of the case."You know, they are right, but this is not a criminal gang of extortion. This is a political cause."
Kamarazhu believes that Guo Wengui is not able to say that money from his followers is unreasonable, because it will destroy his movement and be in the middle of his arms.In 2017, he launched a fully recorded action to try to promote his repatriation, but it did not succeed.
If the crime is established, Guo Wengui may face decades of imprisonment, and the possibility of extradition to China is very small, but it is not without.He was accused of a series of crimes such as money laundering and rape.
Any move that repatriates him in China may suffer fierce political resistance in the United States, because he has a close relationship with former President Trump's long -term consultant Stephen Bannon and other well -known right -wing people who all alliances.Guo Wengui was a member of the Malago Manor in Palm Beach, Florida.
Throughout the trial, the prosecutor tried to associate him with Bannon. Bannon was listed by the government as a conspiracy, but he was not prosecuted.Bannon and Guo Wengui's company signed a $ 1 million consulting contract, and participated in the establishment of three organizations that are vital to public prosecution cases.Bannon's photos have appeared on the screen in front of the jurors many times.
"By the way, Steve Bannon's participation in it is by no means accidental," Fental told the juror on Wednesday.He said that Guo Wengui "uses Steve Bannon. He is hired by Guo Wengui for $ 1 million, so that Guo Wengui can use Bannon's notorious and reputation to promote himself."
Bannon has recently started serving his sentence for contempt for Congress, and he refused to comment on the trial.
On June 4, 2020, he and Guo Wengui appeared on a ship at Port in New York and announced the establishment of the "New Federation".Another Trump government official and Peter Navarro, who is currently in prison for contempting Congress, was appointed as the "International Ambassador" of the new country.
In August 2020, Bannon was arrested on Guo Wengui's yacht for the federal allegations that had nothing to do with this case. The charges were donors to deceive private fundraising activities "we build walls".He was forgiven by Trump in the last few hours of the president's term, but he still faced similar state allegations in New York State.
Guo Wengui, also known as Mels Guo, has a variety of different opinions about his age. After his protector and former deputy minister of the Ministry of National Security were arrested, he fled toU.S.In the next two years, he kept low -key and lived in a luxurious top apartment overlooking the Central Park in Manhattan.But in early 2017, he began to attack several senior officials and accused them of corruption.
First on YouTube, and then on his own streaming media website, Guo Wengui has published a long time long -term long -term discussion, which has attracted thousands of enthusiastic fans from overseas and China.They were attracted by the golden and charming former insiders, and he also claimed to end.
According to the trial of the court, as the relevant Chinese departments began to confiscate Guo Wengui's property and bank accounts in mainland China and Hong Kong, Guo Wengui rely on those supporters to provide funds for his luxury life.
"I really believe in this movement," Zhou Le, a real estate agent in Florida, said that he invested tens of thousands of dollars in Guo Wengui's investment products, and this product guarantees that Guo Wengui will bear any lossesEssence
Another government witness and former supporter of Guo Wengui Patrick Qian (sound) said Guo planned a "carefully designed scam."
Several witnesses summoned by Guo Wengui's defense team were questioned by the prosecutor.Judge Anala Torres once warned Guo Wengui's former security contractor that his testimony may prove his sins.
Guo Wengui was arrested in his top apartment in New York in March 2023.However, despite facing more than a dozen crimes, he still has fanatical fans around the world.Many people come to Xiacheng, Manhattan to watch trials every day, full of public audiovisual seats. Occasionally, like the Greek dramatic song team, they follow the big drama staged in the court or murmured.His website publishes the trial records in Chinese and English every day.
In May this year, shortly before the trial, Wang Yanping, director of Guo Wengui's office, admitted that he had committed the crime of sharing telecommunications fraud and money laundering.Her case will be pronounced in September and did not testify in court in Guo Wengui's trial.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Judge Torres gave a lot of instructions to the jury composed of seven men and five women.
