According to "The Block", the U.S. Department of Justice arrested and prosecuted Bill Guan, chief financial officer of the New York-based Epoch Times, accusing him of participating in a transnational money laundering scheme that laundered at least $67 million in illegal funds.
According to the indictment, Guan is accused of managing the Epoch Times’ “Make Money Online” team, whose members and other associates are accused of using cryptocurrency to purchase “thousands of dollars” at a 70% to 80% discount. Tens of thousands of dollars in criminal proceeds, including fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits, were deposited into tens of thousands of prepaid charge cards.
After obtaining the illicit funds, MMO team members and other associates used the stolen personal information to open various accounts, including prepaid card accounts, cryptocurrency accounts, and bank accounts, to transfer the proceeds of crime to bank accounts associated with The Epoch Times . Once these illicit funds were transferred into these accounts, they were often further laundered through other accounts owned by the outlet, Guan's personal bank account, and Guan's personal cryptocurrency account. The alleged scheme began around 2020 and continued until last month.
Around the time the money laundering scheme began, the media company's annual revenue surged approximately 410% from the previous year, a Justice Department news release said. When the bank asked about the source of the funds, Guan falsely claimed the funds came from legitimate donations to media companies. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:
"Guan conspired with others to benefit himself, the media company and its affiliates by laundering tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits and other criminal proceeds."
The 61-year-old media executive is currently charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and two counts of bank fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 and currently provides news media services in 36 regions in 22 languages, according to its website. The prosecutor's office said the charges were not related to the media company's newsgathering activities.
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