Epoch Times CFO Indicted on Money Laundering, Bank Fraud Charges

The chief financial officer of the Epoch Times was indicted Monday on allegations that he laundered at least $67 million of illegally obtained unemployment benefits to enrich himself and the the media company, the US Department of Justice announced.

Weidong Guan, 61, was charged with two counts of bank fraud and one count of a conspiracy to commit money laundering in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to the unsealed indictment. Guan was arrested Sunday morning and is being held on $3 million bail, the DOJ said.

Guan entered a not guilty plea on all counts Monday, according to a district court docket.

The Epoch Times, a right-leaning media organization, announced Monday that Guan was suspended pending the result of the criminal charges, it said in a statement. The company said it will fully cooperate with the DOJ’s investigation.

“The Epoch Times has a guiding principle that elevates integrity in its dealings above everything else,” the company said in its statement.

Guan is accused of managing Epoch Times’ “Make Money Online” team, which used cryptocurrency to knowingly purchase tens of millions of dollars of fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits from 2020 until this May, the DOJ said. The benefits were loaded onto prepaid debit cards and then bought by the “Make Money Online” team at discounted rates of roughly 70 to 80 cents per dollar in exchange for cryptocurrency, according to the indictment.

The stolen personal identification information was used to open accounts to transfer the funds into bank accounts associated with the media company, the DOJ said. The money was then further laundered through other bank accounts held by The Epoch Times.

“In or around the same time the money laundering scheme began, the media company’s internal financial accounting reflected an increased annual revenue over the previous year ... from approximately $15 million to approximately $62 million,” the DOJ said in its statement.

Counsel for Guan didn’t immediately respond to a Monday request for comment.

The case is assigned to Judge Victor Marrero.

Guan is represented by the Federal Defenders of New York.

The case is US v. Guan, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:24-cr-00322, indictment 6/3/24.