The Epoch Times’ Chief Financial Officer is being accused of participating in a 67 million-dollar laundering scheme.
Wedong “Bill” Guan, 61, was arrested and charged with bank fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering.
Guan is being accused of participating in a transnational money laundering scheme, which involved him laundering money into the Epoch Times bank accounts.
Federal prosecutors are accusing Guan of using “cryptocurrency to knowingly purchase tens of millions of dollars in crime proceeds, including funds from fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits that were loaded onto prepaid debit cards.”
Many pointed out the investigation against the Epoch Times comes at an interesting time considering Alex Jones’ Info Wars was just under pressure by the U.S. government too.
Epoch Times CFO charged over $67M money laundering scheme that boosted newspaper’s revenue by 400% in a year https://t.co/vs5eekHDUl pic.twitter.com/3sXhMv0az2
— New York Post (@nypost) June 4, 2024
It's pretty obvious what's going on
Infowars and Epoch Times are opposite of the regime media https://t.co/8N9tYo3K0d
— Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) June 4, 2024
Here’s what The Associated Press reported:
The chief financial officer of The Epoch Times, a conservative multinational media company, is accused of taking part in a multi-year scheme to launder tens of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits and other funds, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.
Arrested on Sunday, Weidong “Bill” Guan, 61, of Secaucus, New Jersey, appeared Monday before a federal judge in New York on charges of conspiring to commit money laundering and bank fraud. He pleaded not guilty.
Guan is accused of participating in a “sprawling transnational scheme” with others to launder at least $67 million to the New York-based media company’s bank accounts and related entities. Federal prosecutors said members of the company’s “Make Money Online” team, which was managed by Guan, used cryptocurrency to “knowingly purchase tens of millions of dollars in crime proceeds,” including funds from fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits that were loaded onto prepaid debit cards, according to federal prosecutors.
Stolen personal information was then used to open accounts as part of the alleged laundering scheme, prosecutors said. The money was further laundered through other bank accounts held by Epoch and Guan’s personal bank and cryptocurrency accounts.
Breaking: CFO of Epoch Times charged with partaking in money laundering scheme of at least $67 million: DOJ https://t.co/3d0gDjHjRr
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) June 4, 2024
Per Just The News:
Bill Guan, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Epoch Times, a multinational media company headquartered in New York City, was charged on Monday with “participating in a transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds to benefit himself and the media company,” according to the Department of Justice.
Guan was arrested on Sunday morning.
“As alleged, Bill Guan, the Chief Financial Officer of a global newspaper and media company, 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,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said on Monday.
“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. Today’s charges reflect this Office’s ongoing commitment to vigorously enforcing the laws against those who facilitate fraud through money laundering and to protecting the integrity of the U.S. financial system,” he added.
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