Epoch Times CFO Is A Secaucus Resident, Charged With Money Laundering

SECAUCUS, NJ — The CFO of the Epoch Times news site lives in Secaucus, and he was arrested this week on federal charges of $67 million in money laundering.

The man is Weidong "Bill" Guan, 61. Guan was arrested Sunday morning without incident at his home on 7th Street.

Guan's arrest was announced in this press release and the indictment, which was unsealed Monday by U.S. Attorneys for the southern district of New York.

Federal prosecutors would only describe him as the chief financial officer "of a multinational media company headquartered in New York City," but many news outlets confirmed that media company is the Epoch Times.

Guan worked at the Epoch Times' headquarters in Manhattan.

Prosecutors say Guan laundered approximately $67 million through bank accounts controlled by himself and the Epoch Times.

He is accused of running the scheme from 2020 through May of this year, and U.S. Attorneys say in that time period, the Epoch Times' annual revenue swelled, growing from approximately $15 million to $62 million.

However, while prosecutors say Guan ran the scheme to enrich himself and the Epoch Times — and he used the newspaper to launder the money — they also stressed that the criminal charges against Guan "do not relate to the media company's newsgathering activities."

The Epoch Times is a conservative-leaning news site founded by defectors from Communist China. Readership to the Epoch Times has exploded in the past few years, as the online newspaper provided coverage critical of the origins of coronavirus, worldwide lockdowns and vaccines during the global pandemic. The Epoch Times generally provides news coverage that is critical of the Chinese Communist Party, and positive coverage of President Donald Trump.

The Epoch Times released a statement this week saying it will cooperate with the federal investigation:

"The Epoch Times has a guiding principle that elevates integrity in its dealings above everything else. The company intends to and will fully cooperate with any investigation dealing with the allegations against Mr. Guan," said the newspaper. "In the interim, although Mr. Guan is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the company has suspended him until this matter is resolved."

What he is accused of doing:

Starting in 2020 through May of this year, Guan managed a section of the Epoch Times called “Make Money Online” or MMO team, which was not based in the United States. Under his management, that team used cryptocurrency to purchase millions of dollars worth of American pre-paid unemployment insurance debit cards.

Members of the Epoch Times MMO team would purchase these pre-paid debit cards using a particular type of cryptocurrency, at discounted rates of approximately 70 to 80 cents per dollar.

Once the debit cars were purchased, the MMO Team used stolen personal identification information from U.S. residents to open fraudulent accounts, including prepaid debit card accounts, cryptocurrency accounts and bank accounts, say the feds. The prepaid debit card money was transferred into those fake accounts, and from there into accounts owned by the Epoch Times.

Once in the Epoch Times' bank accounts, Guan would further launder the millions through other bank accounts owned by the newspaper, and his own personal bank and cryptocurrency accounts.

Banks, cryptocurrency companies alerted the Epoch Times about Guan's activities

In the past four years, multiple banks, prepaid debit card companies and crypto companies sounded the alarm about Guan's activities, including notifying his employer, say federal prosecutors.

For example, in December 2020, early on in his alleged scam, Guan received a message from a prepaid debit card company that told the newspaper "the funds being used [by the Media Company] are stolen/fraudulent funds, which leads us to believe these are all money-laundering attempts."

That same year, an unnamed cyptocurrency platform contacted Guan to inquire about his recent account activity, "which involved high transfer values and many transactions with peer to-peer exchanges" that are "attractive for money laundering."

And several members of the public contacted the Epoch Times to report fraudulent transactions made in their names, such as unauthorized deductions from bank accounts or unauthorized purchases, including of debit cards. Guan was forwarded several of those complaints.

At least two American banks also asked Guan about the increase in transactions at accounts owned by the Epoch Times, but prosecutors say Guan lied and said the increase in money came from donations to the newspaper, or an increase in reader subscriptions.

However, in 2022, Guan wrote a letter to a U.S. Congressman where he said donations made up "an insignificant portion of their overall revenue."

Yet another bank sent Guan 1,700 notifications, warning him they were detecting a high volume of transactions coming from one single IP address in one hour, indicating the transactions could not possibly come from donations or subscriptions.

Guan would praise his staff members on the MMO team, telling them they were making "a huge profit" and that he would be "donat[ing] all of it to our media group."

Despite these red flags, Guan's activities were allowed to continue.

It is not known who reported his alleged crimes to the FBI — whether it was the Epoch Times, one of his employees on the MMO team, the pre-paid debit card companies, a crypto company or an American bank.

Guan is charged with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering and two counts of bank fraud. He is facing up to 30 years in prison if convicted. The New York Post reports Guan pleaded not guilty. If he is released from federal custody, he will be confined to house arrest, as he is considered an international flight risk.

"As alleged, Bill Guan, the chief financial officer of a global newspaper and media company, conspired with others to benefit himself, the media company and its affiliates by laundering tens of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. "When banks raised questions about the funds, Guan allegedly lied repeatedly and falsely claimed that the funds came from legitimate donations to the media company. Today’s charges reflect this Office’s ongoing commitment to vigorously enforcing the laws against those who facilitate fraud through money laundering and to protecting the integrity of the U.S. financial system."

Not the first time in Secaucus

This is not the first time a Secaucus resident has been accused of running a sophisticated financial fraud scheme worth hundreds of millions:

Many in town will remember when Nick Salzano, 65, was arrested after a multi-hours-long police standoff with FBI agents outside his luxury condo in Riverside Court.

Just this past February, Salzano admitted in U.S. federal court to orchestrating a $658-million Ponzi scheme through the company he owned, National Realty Investment Advisors. NRIA used to advertise on billboards outside the Lincoln tunnel, and advertised heavily on the radio. Federal prosecutors say Salzano and his team defrauded more than 2,000 people through their Ponzi scheme. He is facing 8-12 years in prison and has not yet been sentenced.

Read that story: Nick Salzano Of Secaucus Pleads Guilty In $658 Million Ponzi Scheme (Feb. 2024)