Epoch Times Executive Charged in Alleged $67 Million Money Laundering Scheme

Weidong Guan, the CFO of the right-wing outlet, was accused of funneling illicit funds into his own personal bank and crypto accounts

The chief financial officer of right-wing media media company, The Epoch Times, has been arrested and charged with heading a $67 million global money laundering scheme.

Weidong Guan, also known as Bill Guan, was charged with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering and two counts of bank fraud, according to according to the Justice Department, which announced his indictment. The executive faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for the money-laundering charge and 30 years for each bank fraud charge. The charges against him “do not relate to the Media Company’s newsgathering activities,” the DOJ press release stated.

The media exec was accused of running a “sprawling, transnational scheme” and managing a “Make Money Online” team to use “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.”

Although The Epoch Times was not mentioned by name in the indictment, as CNBC noted, Guan was listed as the nonprofit media company’s chief financial officer tax return filed in 2023.

According to prosecutors, around the time the money laundering scheme began, “the Media Company’s internal financial accounting reflected an increased annual revenue over the previous year of approximately 410%—from approximately $15 million to approximately $62 million.” When banks questioned Guan about the increase in funds entering the bank accounts, the CFO allegedly lied and claimed the transactions came from donations.

In 2022, according to the prosecutors, he wrote a letter to a congressional office falsely stating “donations” made up “an insignificant portion of the overall revenue” of the media company.

Guan pleaded not guilty on Monday, CNBC reported, and was released on a $3 million personal recognizance bond, and per his bond terms, is restricted to New York and New Jersey.

The Epoch Times, the Falun Gong-backed newspaper, has published a number of articles containing vaccine misinformation. The outlet spent millions of dollars in advertising to boost former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, and following his loss to President Joe Biden, amplified Trump’s lies that the election had been stolen.

The company was banned by Facebook in 2019 after NBC News published a report that The Epoch Times obscured its connection to ads promoting Trump and conspiracy theories about his political enemies on the platform.

In a statement released by The Epoch Times on Monday, the company said it “has a guiding principle that elevates integrity in its dealings above everything else” and that it “intends to and will fully cooperate with any investigation dealing with the allegations against Mr. Guan.” The outlet added that it has suspended Guan while the matter is still pending.