Guo Wengui — also referred to as Miles Guo — has been charged over a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme, based on a press release from the SEC on March 15.
SEC recordsdata fees in opposition to Guo
The U.S. Securities and Financial Fee (SEC) stated that Guo ran a crypto providing for an asset referred to as “H-Coin” (aka “Himalaya Coin” or “HCN”) and a associated stablecoin.
The SEC alleges that starting in October 2021 or earlier, Guo misrepresented H-Coin to potential buyers by falsely stating that 20% of the asset’s worth was backed by gold. He additionally promised to supply compensation in case of losses personally.
That crypto scheme was only one illicit exercise named within the SEC’s fees right now, because the regulator additionally charged Guo with misusing belongings elsewhere. The SEC charged Guo and his monetary advisor William Je with diverting $100 million of investor funds in relation to inventory in Guo’s GTV Media Group, Inc. It moreover charged Guo with misappropriating $43.5 million of funds from two different choices to be used in private spending.
Guo allegedly obtained $850 million by way of these varied schemes. The SEC stated these actions violated the registration provisions of securities legal guidelines.
The SEC beforehand charged Guo’s GTV Media Group and different events over one other unregistered crypto safety asset referred to as “G-Cash” or “G-{Dollars}” in 2021. The regulator collected $454 million in fines and funds at the moment.
Guo is a Chinese language expat and billionaire
Guo was a former resident of China who fled to the U.S. in 2014 after studying of varied impending fees in opposition to him. He asserts that these allegations are politically motivated and claims to be a whistleblower in opposition to the Chinese language Communist Occasion.
Inside the US, Guo has ties to former U.S. President Donald Trump and his political circles. He’s a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and launched GTV Media Group in affiliation with Trump social gathering member Steve Bannon.
Guo is a billionaire and was, at one level, the 73rd richest individual in China.