Chinese businessman Guo Wengui’s chief of staff pleads guilty weeks before US fraud trial
- Yvette Wang admitted to conspiring with Guo and others to commit wire fraud and money laundering
- She now faces up to 10 years in prison, compared to possible life in prison without the plea if convicted
The chief of staff of a Chinese businessman sought by the government of China pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges on Friday, weeks before her boss goes to trial in New York in a US$1 billion fraud case.
Yvette Wang entered the plea in Manhattan federal court three weeks before she was to stand trial with Guo Wengui.
Guo has pleaded not guilty to defrauding hundreds of thousands of followers in the US and around the world of over US$1 billion.
At a sentencing scheduled for September 10, Wang faces up to 10 years in prison. Without the plea, she could have faced life in prison if she was convicted.
Wang, 45, spoke only English during her plea proceeding, letting the earphones she was provided by an interpreter dangle below her ears as she described her crimes. Wearing jail clothing, she wore leg shackles throughout the proceeding.
She admitted conspiring with Guo and others to commit wire fraud and money laundering from 2018 through March 2023 by giving false information to induce victims to send money through entities and organisations including Guo’s media company, GTV Media Group Inc, and his so-called Himalaya Farm Alliance and the Himalaya Exchange, in return for stock or cryptocurrency.
