Henchwoman of exiled Chinese business tycoon sentenced for role in $1B fraud scheme
Yvette Wang, a Chinese national, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in managing a $1 billion fraud scheme. Wang operated as the 'chief of staff' for Miles Guo, an exiled tycoon.
An exiled Chinese business tycoon’s “chief of staff” was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in diverting money from investors to Gatsby-like purchases, including a mansion, nearly $1 million in Persian and Chinese rugs and a Lamborghini, federal officials announced Monday.
Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York sentenced the woman, Yvette Wang, for her role in defrauding thousands of investors of the approximately $1.4 billion they poured into the businesses of exiled tycoon Miles Guo, authorities said. Wang, a Chinese citizen living in New York City, participated in the fraud from at least 2018 through March 2023, officials said.
The 45-year-old worked with Guo and co-conspirator Kin Ming Je to convince people to invest in fraudulent schemes like the Rule of Law Foundation, a bogus nonprofit that purported to take aim at the Chinese Communist Party; and Himalaya Exchange, a fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange that has been seized by the FBI, an indictment says.
Wang was charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering, according to a complaint. FBI agents who arrested her in March 2023 found $130,000 in cash in her apartment, according to Justice Department officials.
In addition to the 50,000-square-foot New Jersey mansion, the lavish spending Wang helped orchestrate also included approximately $4.4 million on a custom-built Bugatti sports car, a $62,000 television and a $53,000 fireplace log cradle holder, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Wang received half a million dollars per year and a $1.1 million Manhattan condo in direct compensation, an indictment says.
Wang’s attorney Louis V. Fasulo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
She was sentenced to three years of supervised release in addition to her prison time and ordered to forfeit $1.4 billion. Guo was convicted in July and is awaiting sentencing.
A spokesperson for the Southern District of New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Je’s status. The co-conspirator remained at large over the summer.
How Guo, Wang profited from dissent
Wang’s boss, Guo, found fame online after fleeing from China to the United States in 2015, court filings say. He gave media interviews and posted videos on social media criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, according to an indictment. Nearly half a million people followed him on YouTube, according to archived posts.
He used his status as a dissident and as a purported billionaire tycoon to coax investors into funding alleged new ventures that ranged from nonprofits critical of Chinese political leadership to membership in a club that allegedly “curated world-class products, services and experiences” but in fact provided “no discernable membership benefits,” court filings say.
Court filings refer to her as Guo’s “chief of staff” and she helped manage several of Guo’s ventures. She helped oversee the sham club that cost up to $50,000 annually and GTV, a purported “citizen journalism” social media platform in which people invested $452 million, an indictment says.
The vast majority of the funds intended for the platform combining “big data, artificial intelligence, block-chain technology and real-time interactive communication” were instead funneled to a relative of Guo, filings say.
Guo, Wang and Je used approximately 500 accounts held in the names of 80 different entities to launder investors’ money, according to an indictment.
The ringleader Guo faces decades in prison for overseeing the complex scheme, according to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
Je, a dual citizen of Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, was charged 11 of the same charges as Guo but faces an additional 20 years maximum in prison for obstruction of justice.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen
Michael Loria is a national reporter on the Paste BN breaking news desk. Contact him at mloria@usatoday.com, @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585.