Guo Wengui, the property tycoon turned anti-Beijing activist also known as Miles Guo, was sentenced to 30 years in a New York federal prison on 29 Jun for running a fraud scheme that cost investors more than $1bn, built partly on crypto promises.
Chinese Exile Guo Wengui Sentenced to 30 Years over $1bn Fraud
30 June 2026 - 04:28 CEST
By Oihyun Kim
US District Judge Analisa Torres said Guo "preyed" on supporters who hoped for a democratic China while he used their money to fund a gilded exile, and ordered $889mn in forfeiture. The Manhattan courtroom was packed with followers, some of whom called the proceedings 'America's funeral.'
Currency for new China
Crypto sits at the centre of the case. Guo, working alongside former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, started the Himalaya Exchange and its native token Himalaya Coin (HCN) in 2020, pitching it to Chinese diaspora investors as the future currency of a 'New Federal State of China' that would replace the yuan once the Communist Party fell.
Prosecutors said the Himalaya component alone drew about $262mn. Security firm CertiK later denied ever auditing the project, and ownership of the exchange was never clearly disclosed, with entities scattered across Australia, the UK and the British Virgin Islands.
Yacht and mansion funded
Prosecutors said the token scheme ran alongside a separate media venture, GTV Media Group, with proceeds funding a $37mn yacht, a New Jersey mansion and luxury cars. Three Guo-linked media companies agreed in 2021 to pay the SEC more than $539mn to settle charges of illegal offerings, though that resolution did not end the federal probe.
Guo's chief of staff, Yvette Wang, was sentenced to 10 years in January 2025 for her role. Prosecutors argued a lenient sentence for Guo would only let him "pick their pockets again."
Guo, who denies wrongdoing and says the funds backed political activism, is expected to appeal.
