Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui busted by FBI in $1 billion fraud scheme
An exiled Chinese billionaire and pal of former White House adviser Steve Bannon was arrested at his palatial Manhattan apartment Wednesday in a billion-dollar fraud scheme, federal authorities said.
Ho Wan Kwok, aka Guo Wengui and Miles Guo, allegedly duped thousands of online followers out of investments and spent the ill-gotten cash on lavish assets, including a $36,000 mattress, a $26.5 million New Jersey mansion, and a $37 million yacht.
Guo amassed a large online following after starting two nonprofits in 2018 that pushed his purported agenda of being critical of the Chinese Communist Party, the Justice Department said.
Guo and a co-conspirator, Kin Ming Je, then set up numerous business entities, including a media group, a loan program, and members-only luxury clubs, according to the indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.
The alleged fraudster then sought investments in the businesses and siphoned off more than $1 billion given by thousands of his followers, the feds allege.
He spent the cash on opulent goods, including the New Jersey mansion and a massive yacht. Guo also bought a $140,000 piano and stuffed $10 million in his spouse’s personal bank account, according to the indictment.
Guo was arrested Wednesday morning during an FBI raid at his luxurious pad, which spans the entire 18th floor of the Sherry-Netherland Hotel that overlooks Central Park on Fifth Avenue.
FBI agents were still there hours later when they noticed smoke and called 911, sources told The Post.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed agents were still at Guo’s apartment when the fire broke out following his arrest. Both the agency and the FDNY fire marshals are investigating the cause and if it’s related to Guo’s arrest.
“[Guo] is charged with lining his pockets with the money he stole, including buying himself, and his close relatives, a 50,000-square-foot mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari, and even two $36,000 mattresses, and financing a $37 million luxury yacht,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement after the charges were announced.
Guo is a business and political associate of Bannon, ex-chief adviser to former President Donald Trump. Bannon was arrested on a yacht owned by Guo in 2022 for his alleged role in a scheme to defraud investors of a plan to privately construct a US-Mexico border wall.
Bannon was later pardoned by Trump.
In 2020, Guo and Bannon started a political group with the aim of overthrowing the ruling Communist government in China. The group made headlines when planes pulled banners with their insignia across the New York skyline.
The real estate tycoon vanished from China in 2014 after a corruption crackdown led by President Xi Jinping caught a number of his associates. Chinese authorities have accused Guo of a number of crimes, including bribery, sexual assault, and kidnapping.
In 2018, a top Chinese intelligence official, Ma Jian, was sentenced to life in prison for taking $15.9 million in bribes from Guo in exchange for helping expedite his real estate business.
In an interview with The Post after Ma’s conviction, Guo said the sentence was an attempt by the Communist Party to “break” him.
The Communist Party of China “wants to break me. But I don’t crumble under pressure. I get stronger from it,” said Guo.
“I have 60 custom-made Brioni suits and handmade Louis Vuitton shoes. I don’t care about things. I’m a Buddhist,” he added in the interview.
“But the CCP wanted to take everything away from me — my wealth, my freedom, and my dignity. All of this helps show that they can’t,” he said.
Guo was hit with 12 counts for the fraud scheme Wednesday and faces a maximum of life in prison. His co-conspirator, Je, remains at large.
Guo was detained after an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court Wednesday, but reserved the right appeal his detention at a later date.
