(TargetDailyNews.com) – Weidong “Bill” Guan, 61, is the chief financial officer of the international conservative news outlet The Epoch Times and is facing three counts of financial crimes in connection with his work on the paper. Guan is alleged to have illicitly laundered up to $67 million over the course of several years during his time with ET by purchasing ill-gotten gains and illegally stolen funds.
Prosecutors outlined a complex scheme involving cryptocurrency and prepaid bank cards as well as fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits and identity theft. They claim that the funds were laundered through ET as “donations” which fueled a huge increase in the company’s revenue.
Guan is charged with two counts of bank fraud and one conspiracy money laundering charge and pleaded not guilty on June 3 in downtown Manhattan. He posted a $3 million bond and was released with travel restrictions.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams published a statement accusing Guan of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to enrich himself, his company, and their associates by inflating their bottom line with criminal proceeds. When banks questioned the income, Guan lied, telling them the funds were all donations.
ET has since suspended Guan pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings and promised to fully cooperate with authorities.
Guan ran the “Make Money Online team” at ET, where the alleged scheme was executed. Proceeds from fraudulently acquired unemployment benefits were sold to buyers at a discount using cryptocurrency. The team is alleged to have purchased tens of millions of these stolen benefits for 70 to 80 cents per dollar which were then loaded onto prepaid debit cards and “donated” to ET.
Guan and others allegedly lied to anyone who asked about the source of the funding, including people at the company, banks, and regulators. Prosecutors claim that the scheme caused ET’s revenue to spike from $15 million in 2019 to over $62 million the following year.
A new release from the Department of Justice was explicit that the criminal charges against Guan have nothing to do with the company’s “newsgathering [sic] activities.” The outlet leans right and has previously given favorable coverage to former President Donald Trump.
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