What happened
Weidong "Bill" Guan, chief financial officer of the right-wing Epoch Times news organization, was arrested and charged with "participating in a transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds," the Justice Department said Monday. Guan, 61, pleaded not guilty.
Who said what
Federal prosecutors said Guan laundered the money using the company's "Make Money Online" (MMO) team, channeling most of it back to The Epoch Times through "tens of thousands of layered transactions" but keeping $16.7 million for himself. While the plot "benefited" The Epoch Times, boosting its revenue about 410% in the first year, the Justice Department said, the charges "do not relate" to its "newsgathering activities."
The Epoch Times said it will "fully cooperate" with the investigation and has suspended Guan "until this matter is resolved." The newspaper "effectively functions as a propaganda wing" of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, New York Magazine said, and it also became a major booster of Donald Trump and various conspiracy theories starting in 2016.
What next?
Guan's three charges each carry maximum sentences of 20-30 years in prison.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why are beef prices rising? And how is politics involved?Today's Big Question Drought, tariffs and consumer demand all play a role
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
Labor: Federal unions struggle to survive TrumpFeature Trump moves to strip union rights from federal workers
-
Trump proposes ending quarterly earnings reportsSpeed Read The SEC would have to approve any changes
-
Rupert Murdoch's conservative son wins succession battleSpeed Read Lachlan Murdoch will get control over the media empire that includes Fox News and The Wall Street Journal following his father's death, while his siblings will receive payouts
-
Why are global postal services cutting off package delivery to the US?Today's Big Question 'Uncertainty' around new tariff rules halts small-dollar imports
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
