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NEW YORK — Guo Wengui, a self-exiled Chinese billionaire and vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Monday for orchestrating a sprawling financial fraud that prosecutors say defrauded more than 1,000 victims worldwide of hundreds of millions of dollars.

U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres handed down the sentence in a Manhattan courtroom filled with Guo’s supporters. She described how Guo preyed on investors who hoped to support democracy in China, using their money to fund a lavish lifestyle while showing no remorse, wrote Politico.

“You took advantage of people’s dreams,” Torres said, adding that Guo “takes no responsibility for his actions and instead insists his conduct caused no loss and harmed no one.”

Before sentencing, Guo, also known as Miles Guo or Ho Wan Kwok, complained about his treatment in custody. He told the court through an interpreter that he had been ill and needed medical attention earlier that day. He briefly defended himself, saying his only goal in coming to the United States was “to destroy the CCP.”

The judge ordered Guo to forfeit $889 million in restitution. Victims who wrote to the court described losing life savings, suffering severe anxiety, and facing family shame over the failed investments.

One victim who testified at trial, Wei Chen, told the judge that Guo’s fraud “destroyed my life” and that of her family.

From tycoon to fugitive

Guo fled China about a decade ago and rebranded himself in the U.S. as a prominent critic of the Chinese government. He cultivated ties with American conservatives, most notably forming a close alliance with political strategist Steve Bannon. In 2020, the two announced plans to overthrow the Chinese Communist Party.

Before his arrest in 2023, Guo lived extravagantly in a luxury apartment overlooking Central Park, owned yachts, race cars, and designer goods, and was a member of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.

Prosecutors said Guo raised more than $1 billion from investors between 2018 and 2023 through fraudulent schemes involving his media company GTV Media Group, the Himalaya Farm Alliance, and the Himalaya Exchange. Much of the money allegedly went to support his opulent lifestyle rather than the promised projects.

A federal jury convicted him on nine of 12 counts after a seven-week trial, added Politico.

Guo’s lawyers argued that he was the victim of a relentless Chinese government campaign to silence him, claiming Beijing had recruited American elites to target him. They asked for a lighter sentence, noting that Guo bears scars from alleged torture in China decades ago.

Judge Torres rejected that narrative, emphasizing the harm done to ordinary investors.

As Guo was led out of the courtroom, his supporters applauded and shouted messages of support.

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