Far-Right Publisher Charged With $67M Fraud Scheme

From the Justice Department:

Andrew Wroblewski, the Assistant Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service Domestic Operations, announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging WEIDONG GUAN, a/k/a “Bill Guan,” the Chief Financial Officer of a multinational media company headquartered in New York City with participating in a transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds to benefit himself and the media company.

GUAN was arrested yesterday morning and will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “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.

“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.”

Read the full press release.

The Epoch Times is run by the Chinese cult Falun Gong, which also runs the anti-LGBTQ touring acrobatics show Shen Yun. The outlet is heavily followed by the cult due to its promotion of anti-vax lies, QAnon batshittery, and election fraud claims.

They spent tens of millions promoting Trump on Facebook and YouTube until being banned from advertising or demonetized by both platforms. Facebook posts by the Epoch Times regularly appear in weekly top ten engagement lists.

In 2022, the outlet lost a defamation suit against reporter who criticized its coverage of the Capitol riot, with the judge ruling his reporting was accurate.

Prominent right wing figures and elected Republicans have appeared on the Epoch Times’ YouTube interviews. Its newspaper claims to rank fourth in subscribers among US newspapers. Last year Robert Kennedy Jr. called them “very courageous, real journalism.”

Congressman Ralph Norman today delivered to our DC office the framed history of The Epoch Times he read into the Congressional record on July 13.

“To hear the story of The Epoch Times, it’s just special. This is special.” – @RepRalphNorman pic.twitter.com/YiiXWvIEFc

— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) September 28, 2023

Bill Guan, CFO of The Epoch Times, which directed millions of dollars in advertising toward supporting President Donald Trump’s first campaign and published dozens of articles parroting his lies about the election — resulting in huge growth to its audience and its coffers. https://t.co/xXs5wlrqKZ

— Kath (@mopeng) June 3, 2024