Guo has pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal charges that included securities fraud, wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions and conspiracy, including for money laundering.
According to the indictment, Guo and his accomplices defrauded investors in a media company, cryptocurrency and other ventures.
No bail for exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui
No bail for exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui
The indictment said Guo took advantage of his prolific online presence and hundreds of thousands of followers by promising outsize financial returns and other benefits.
In reality, the scheme allowed the co-conspirators to enrich themselves and family members, and fund Guo’s “extravagant lifestyle”, the indictment said.
Two co-defendants face related criminal charges, including one defendant charged with obstruction.
Also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Kwok, Guo is a critic of China’s Communist Party and business associate of former US president Donald Trump’s one-time adviser Steve Bannon.
Guo has been jailed in Brooklyn since his March 2023 arrest, with Torres and a federal appeal court rejecting his proposed US$25 million bail package last year.
Jury selection in his trial is scheduled to begin on May 20.
Prosecutors also sought the forfeiture of various assets including bank accounts, a US$37 million yacht, a New Jersey mansion, a Bugatti, a Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce.
Guo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Connecticut in February 2022. That case was later combined with the bankruptcies of other companies he controlled. Torres has twice rejected Guo’s bid to stay the bankruptcy proceedings.