U.S. prosecutors have convicted exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui on nine counts of fraud and may face decades in prison. He is accused of using club memberships, cryptocurrency, selling private shares in his media companies and other means to extort followers to maintain his lavish lifestyle. In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also accused Guo Wengui of using the cryptocurrency H-Coin to raise hundreds of millions of dollars and defraud thousands of people.
Who is Guo Wengui?
According to the BBC, Guo Wengui is a real estate developer who was one of the richest people in China before leaving the country in 2014. In 2017, he applied for political asylum in the United States, claiming he was being persecuted by communist authorities.
Guo Wengui has had several aliases, including Miles Guo or Miles Kwok and "Seventh Brother". In the indictment, his name is Guo Haoyun.
In March 2023, Guo Wengui was arrested and prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice on suspicion of defrauding more than $1 billion. Now, U.S. prosecutors have convicted Guo Wengui on nine counts of fraud, including fraud, and he may face decades in prison. He is accused of using club memberships, cryptocurrency, selling private shares in his media companies and other means to extort followers to maintain his lavish lifestyle.
Hundreds of millions of dollars defrauded through cryptocurrency H-Coin
Guo Wengui is also accused of raising hundreds of millions of dollars from investors through crypto-asset securities called H-Coin (Himalaya Coin or HCN) and related stablecoins.
He is accused of making material misrepresentations to potential H-Coin investors, including falsely claiming that H-Coin had 20% gold reserves and that he would personally compensate investors for any potential losses. In addition, he was also accused of using a "hungry marketing" strategy to claim that "Himalaya Exchange is the world's first true cryptocurrency ecosystem," causing the price of XiCoin to rise rapidly.
He also faced charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC's Enforcement Division, said in a statement: "We allege that Guo Wengui is a serial fraudster who raised more than $850 million by promising investors purported excess returns on cryptocurrency, technology and luxury investment opportunities. U.S. dollars. In effect, Guo exploited the hype surrounding cryptocurrencies and other investments to victimize thousands of people and fund his and his family’s lavish lifestyle.”
This article Guo Wengui was convicted of nine counts of fraud and other crimes, using the cryptocurrency H-Coin to defraud hundreds of millions of dollars. First appeared on Chain News ABMedia.
