The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced an indictment against Bill Guan, the chief financial officer of Epoch Times, early on Tuesday. He was charged by the DoJ with participating in a plot to utilise cryptocurrency to launder $67 million.
Popular conservative political media site Epoch is well-known for its criticism of the Chinese government. Guan is charged with leading a plot in which, from roughly 2020 until roughly May 2024, he oversaw Epoch’s “Make Money Online” staff abroad. The firm’s news and information-gathering operations are unrelated to these claims.
The Department of Justice claimed that “under Guan’s management, members of the team and others used cryptocurrency to knowingly purchase proceeds from criminal activities totaling tens of millions of dollars, including proceeds from fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits that had been loaded onto tens of thousands of prepaid debit cards.”
Following their purported “laundering” through a certain cryptocurrency platform, the proceeds were allegedly converted into an unidentified cryptocurrency worth between 70 and 80 cents on the dollar. After that, team members opened accounts using identity theft to transfer profits to those accounts, which they then opened in their own names.
The money was then further laundered via Guan’s cryptocurrency accounts, personal bank accounts, and other bank accounts owned by the media organisation. Guan is accused with bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
According to the DoJ indictment, each bank fraud allegation carries a possible sentence of 30 years in prison, while the money laundering accusation carries a maximum term of 20 years. Investigators began to check into the company’s 410% spike in annual income, which shot up to $62 million from a much smaller $15 million. This led to hints of criminal malfeasance. At the time, Guan claimed the increase in funding was the result of “donations,” which aroused suspicion.