The chief financial officer of conservative global news outlet The Epoch Times has been arrested and charged with masterminding a years-long scheme to launder at least $67 million in illicit funds, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The scheme, which fraudulently obtained cryptocurrency, tens of thousands of prepaid debit cards and unemployment benefits and stole personal information, significantly increased The Epoch Times’ reported annual revenue, prosecutors alleged.
Weidong “Bill” Guan, 61, was indicted in U.S. District Court in Lower Manhattan on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of bank fraud.
Guan was arrested Sunday morning and pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon before a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan, according to a court notice. He was released on a $3 million personal recognizance bond, and his travel was restricted to parts of New York and New Jersey, among others.
“Mr. Guan conspired with others to launder tens of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits and other criminal proceeds to benefit himself, his media companies, and their affiliates,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. .
“When the banks questioned the funds, Mr. Guan repeatedly lied and falsely claimed the funds came from legitimate donations to media companies,” Williams said.
The Epoch Times is not mentioned by name in the indictment. However, Guan is listed as Epoch Times’ chief financial officer on the nonprofit media company’s most recent tax return filed in late 2023.
Prosecutors alleged the money laundering scheme benefited a “multinational media company headquartered in Manhattan, New York.” The Epoch Times is headquartered on West 28th Street in Manhattan.
Prosecutors allege that Guan and his co-conspirators’ scheme caused the company’s profits to skyrocket from “approximately $15 million to approximately $62 million” between 2019 and 2020.
In 2019, the company reported $15.5 million in program revenue, according to IRS non-profit tax filings made public by The Epoch Times. The following year, The Epoch Times reported tax-free profits of $62.7 million.
The Epoch Times did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Guan, who lives in Secaucus, New Jersey, managed the Epoch Times’ “online monetization team,” which carried out a scheme to purchase “proceeds of crime” and transfer them to bank accounts linked to media outlets, according to the indictment.
From 2020 to 2024, the team reportedly used cryptocurrency platforms to purchase tens of millions of dollars in criminal proceeds at a discounted price of 70 to 80 cents on the dollar in exchange for cryptocurrencies. Prosecutors allege that proceeds of crime from sources including “fraudulent receipt of unemployment benefits” were deposited on tens of thousands of prepaid debit cards.
It is known that after purchasing the proceeds of crime, the participants opened various accounts using stolen personal identification information and transferred the proceeds to bank accounts linked to media outlets and related organizations.
According to the prosecution, the money was often laundered through other accounts, including Mr. Guan’s personal bank account and cryptocurrency account.
Guan and his co-conspirators allegedly lied to banks and other institutions about the source of the proceeds to conceal their illegality.
Guan’s attorney could not immediately be reached, but case records late Monday showed Guan had been appointed a public defender.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment further on the indictment against Guan, which was filed in late May and made public Monday.
The bank fraud charge each carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and the conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The charges against Guan “are not related to the media company’s news gathering activities,” the Justice Department said in a news release.
NBC News and other media outlets have reported that The Epoch Times is affiliated with the Chinese religious group Falun Gong. Falun Gong has in recent years supported former President Donald Trump as an ally against China’s ruling Communist Party.
