DOJ Arrests CFO of Media Outlet Epoch Times for Alleged $67,000,000 Money Laundering Scheme Involving Crypto
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York (USAO-SDNY), is charging the chief financial officer of The Epoch Times, Bill Guan, with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering and two counts of bank fraud.
According to the USAO-SDNY, Guan entered into a transnational conspiracy with others that included the media outlet’s foreign-based “Make Money Online” (MMO) team to launder at least $67 million “from at least in or about 2020, through in or about May 2024.”
“Under GUAN’s management, members of the MMO Team and others used cryptocurrency to knowingly purchase tens of millions of dollars in crime proceeds, including proceeds of fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits, that had been loaded onto tens of thousands of prepaid debit cards.
The crime proceeds were generally purchased by the scheme participants, including members of the MMO Team and others working with them, using a particular cryptocurrency platform, at discounted rates of approximately 70 to 80 cents per dollar, and in exchange for cryptocurrency.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York further says that upon purchasing the crime proceeds, the MMO Team and others opened bank, cryptocurrency, and prepaid debit card accounts as well as other accounts using stolen information. These accounts were subsequently used to transfer the proceeds of crime into bank accounts linked to The Epoch Times.
“After the crime proceeds reached those bank accounts, they were often further laundered through other bank accounts held by The Epoch Times and its related entities, GUAN’s personal bank accounts, and through GUAN’s personal cryptocurrency accounts.”
Following the media outlet’s 410% jump in revenues from approximately $15 million to approximately $62 million year-over-year in or around the time of the money laundering scheme starting, Guan told banks that the increase was a result of an uptick in donations.
“However, in 2022, GUAN wrote a letter addressed to a congressional office falsely stating “donations” constitute “an insignificant portion of the overall revenue” of the Media Company.”
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