|
Yvette Wang, 45, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court less
than two years after her arrest in March 2023, when FBI agents
found $130,000 of cash in a safe in her Manhattan apartment.
Judge Analisa Torres said Wang was an “integral part of the
conspiracy” carried out by Guo Wengui, who was convicted at a
July trial and awaits sentencing.
Wang also agreed to forfeit $1.4 billion as part of her May
guilty plea to conspiracy charges.
Guo was convicted of defrauding hundreds of thousands of
followers in the U.S. and around the world of over $1 billion.
Prosecutors said Wang, along with Guo and others, carried out
the fraud from 2018 through March 2023.
At her plea, Wang admitted to conspiring with Guo and others to
commit wire fraud and money laundering by giving false
information to induct victims to send money through entities and
organizations including Guo’s media company, GTV Media Group
Inc., and his so-called Himalaya Farm Alliance and the Himalaya
Exchange, in return for stock or cryptocurrency.
Without the plea, she could have faced life in prison if she was
convicted at trial.
Guo was once believed to be among the richest people in China.
In 2014, he left during an anti-corruption crackdown led by
President Xi Jinping that ensnared people close to Guo,
including a top intelligence official.
Since then, he has been highly sought by that nation’s
government, relying on the U.S. for protection as Chinese
authorities accused him of rape, kidnapping, bribery and other
offenses. He has long argued that those claims were false,
saying they were meant to punish him for publicly outing
corruption there and criticizing key Communist Party figures.
While living in New York as a fugitive, he became an outspoken
critic of the ruling Communist Party and developed a close
relationship with Steve Bannon, President-elect Donald Trump’s
former political strategist. Guo and Bannon in 2020 announced
the founding of a joint initiative they said was aimed at
overthrowing the Chinese government.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
