Yvette Wang, the chief of staff for a Chinese businessman under government investigation in China, was sentenced to a decade behind bars on Monday due to her involvement in a massive $1 billion fraud scheme. The sentencing took place in a federal court in Manhattan, less than two years following her arrest in March 2023, during which authorities discovered $130,000 in cash stashed in a safe at her Manhattan residence.
Judge Analisa Torres described Wang as a crucial player in the conspiracy orchestrated by Guo Wengui, who was convicted in July and is now awaiting his sentence. As part of a guilty plea she entered in May, Wang agreed to forfeit $1.4 billion linked to her charges of conspiracy.
Guo, who once ranked among China’s wealthiest individuals, was found guilty of scamming hundreds of thousands of followers across the globe, resulting in financial losses exceeding $1 billion. Prosecutors detailed that Wang, together with Guo and other accomplices, executed the fraudulent scheme from 2018 until March 2023.
In her guilty plea, Wang acknowledged that she conspired with Guo and others to perpetrate wire fraud and money laundering. They deceived victims into investing their money through various entities, such as Guo’s media enterprise, GTV Media Group Inc., as well as his alleged Himalaya Farm Alliance and the Himalaya Exchange, promising them returns in the form of stock or cryptocurrency.
Had she not entered the plea agreement, Wang could have faced a life sentence if found guilty during a trial.
Guo, who fled to the United States in 2014 amid an anti-corruption crackdown led by President Xi Jinping, has been accused by Chinese authorities of serious crimes, including rape and bribery. Guo asserts that these allegations are unfounded and attempt to punish him for exposing corruption and criticizing prominent figures in the Communist Party.
While living in New York as a fugitive, he has become a vocal opponent of the Chinese government, forming a close alliance with Steve Bannon, a former political strategist for President Donald Trump. In 2020, Guo and Bannon launched a joint initiative which they claimed was designed to challenge and potentially overthrow the Chinese Communist regime.
