A senior executive at the Epoch Times, identified as Weidong Guan or Bill Guan, has been indicted on charges related to an alleged money laundering scheme totaling at least $67 million.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled the charges on Monday, revealing accusations of conspiring to commit money laundering and two counts of bank fraud against Guan. The indictment was unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The Epoch Times, a publication with right-leaning affiliations tied to the Falun Gong spiritual movement, has clarified that the charges against Guan do not pertain to its journalistic endeavors. While the DOJ did not directly name the Epoch Times as Guan’s employer, the connection was acknowledged by the company in an online statement.
According to the DOJ, the alleged misconduct occurred between 2020 and May 2024. Guan and others purportedly utilized fraudulent debit cards and cryptocurrency to acquire tens of millions of dollars in illicitly obtained funds, including proceeds from fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits. The indictment claims that Guan opened accounts using stolen personal information and directed funds to bank and cryptocurrency accounts linked to the newspaper and himself.
The DOJ highlighted that during this period, the Epoch Times’ internal financial records showed a significant surge in annual revenue, increasing by approximately 410 percent from $15 million to $62 million.
If convicted, Guan could face a maximum sentence of 20 years for money laundering and up to 30 years for each count of bank fraud.
The alleged scheme reportedly came to light after a bank’s risk management division overseeing the Epoch Times and Guan flagged unusual transactions and requested documentation for the deposited funds. Guan purportedly asserted that the funds originated from online donations and instructed another employee to fabricate fraudulent donation notification emails for each transaction.
Additionally, discrepancies were identified in one of the newspaper’s bank accounts, with an unusually high chargeback ratio exceeding industry standards for fraud.
Multiple entities, including another bank, an internal whistleblower, a prepaid debit card company, and two cryptocurrency platforms, raised concerns about potential money laundering activities in Guan’s accounts. The indictment states that one bank sent over 1,700 automated emails notifying Guan of the high volume of transactions originating from a single source, inconsistent with his claim of individual donations.
Furthermore, Guan allegedly misled Congress regarding the source of the funds in a written communication.
In response to the allegations, the Epoch Times emphasized its commitment to integrity and announced the suspension of Guan pending the resolution of the matter. The company expressed its intention to fully cooperate with any investigations concerning the accusations against Guan.
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