Guo Wengui gets 30 years for $1 billion investor fraud scheme

Guo Wengui was sentenced to 30 years in prison in Manhattan federal court on June 29, 2026, after Judge Analisa Torres said he ran a fraud that raised more than $1 billion from supporters. Torres also ordered $889 million in forfeiture and restitution. The case involved anti-Communist politics, online fundraising and a luxury spending spree.

Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, fled China around 2014 or 2015 and rebuilt himself in New York City as a loud critic of the Chinese Communist Party. He cultivated a close relationship with Steve Bannon, and jurors at Guo’s 2024 trial saw a video of Bannon promoting one of Guo’s schemes. Bannon was later arrested aboard Guo’s yacht in 2020 in an unrelated fraud case. Guo was convicted in July 2024 on nine of 12 counts, including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud and money laundering-related charges.

The fraud ran from 2018 to 2023 and pulled in money from hundreds of thousands of online followers who believed they were backing a political cause. Instead, the money helped finance a New Jersey mansion, a Connecticut estate, a red Lamborghini, a yacht, expensive mattresses and a Central Park-area luxury apartment.

Torres said the scheme affected more than 1,000 people worldwide and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. She said Guo “preyed on those seeking to bring Democracy to China.” Victims submitted letters describing life savings wiped out, severe anxiety, shame and family fallout, and Wei Chen told the court the fraud “destroyed my life” and her family’s.

Guo briefly addressed the court and said he came to the United States to “destroy the CCP,” while disputing the government’s account of his condition in jail. Supporters packed the courtroom and applauded as he was taken away.