The federal government has charged the chief financial officer of the Epoch Times newspaper, a New York-based publication critical of the Chinese government, with money laundering, according to US officials.
Weidong “Bill” Guan, the CFO of the newspaper, is accused of laundering $67 million in a scheme, as per a Monday indictment by the US Justice Department.
Guan, a 61-year-old resident of Secaucus, NJ, allegedly used a cryptocurrency platform to purchase prepaid debit cards at a discount after they were loaded with money obtained from fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, court documents revealed.
The alleged scheme boosted Epoch Times’ revenue by nearly 400% in just a year, from $15 million to $62 million, according to Justice Department officials.
Guan was arrested on Monday evening, with bail set at $3 million, according to the New York Times.
Guan has pleaded not guilty and, if released, will be under house arrest.
If convicted, Guan could face up to 20 years in prison for money laundering and 30 years each for two bank fraud charges listed in the indictment.
The indictment did not name Epoch Times but referred to it as a “multinational media company.” Prosecutors clarified that the charges are unrelated to the media company’s news-gathering activities.
In a statement, the news organization, associated with China’s Falun Gong spiritual movement, stated that they would cooperate with the federal investigation.
“The Epoch Times prioritizes integrity in all its dealings above everything else. The company intends to fully cooperate with any investigation related to the allegations against Mr. Guan,” the statement read.
“While Mr. Guan is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the company has suspended him until the matter is resolved.”
Established in 2000, Epoch Times promotes the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned in China, and has been supportive of former President Donald Trump.
The Post reached out to Epoch Times and the Justice Department for comment.
According to the May 23 indictment from federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, Guan, leading a team called “Make Money Online,” used stolen identification numbers of US residents to obtain unemployment insurance benefits, which were then used to load prepaid debit cards.
These debit cards were allegedly sold at a discount of “approximately 70 to 80 cents per dollar” in exchange for cryptocurrency.
“Once purchased, the crime proceeds were transferred to bank accounts” belonging to Guan and the company, the indictment stated.
Guan “conspired with others to benefit himself, the media company, and its affiliates by laundering tens of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits and other crime proceeds,” said US Attorney Damian Williams in a media release.
“When banks raised questions about the funds, Guan allegedly lied repeatedly and falsely claimed that the funds came from legitimate donations to the media company,” Williams added.
