Officials: Greenwich billionaire used $1B in stolen money to fund lifestyle

Federal court documents filed in the case of an exiled Chinese billionaire accused of a $1 billion fraud scheme reveal how authorities say he lived an extreme lavish lifestyle that included a Connecticut mansion with bullet-proof glass and "around-the-clock armed security guards" that came at the expense of thousands of investors who were allegedly defrauded.

Guo Wengui, 54, who was indicted Wednesday under the name Ho Wan Kwok, was also known to travel among a "caravan of luxury automobiles" while visiting his homes in Greenwich, New York and New Jersey, court documents show.

Another $2.3 million went to maintain his 145-foot luxury yacht -- the same boat former Trump advisor Steve Bannon was arrested on in 2020 in Long Island Sound, the court documents show.

All told, law enforcement officials say Wengui, who owns a home on Taconic Road in Greenwich, a Manhattan penthouse and a mansion in Mahwah, N.J., earned $1 billion through "extensive, sophisticated, interrelated" schemes.

Wengui was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. He's also facing charges of wire and securities fraud, international promotional money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions in U.S. federal court in the Southern District of New York.

Court records show Wengui was ordered detained after he pleaded not guilty Wednesday at his arraignment in Manhattan federal court. The FBI is also investigating a fire that broke out at his Manhattan apartment building hours after his arrest on Wednesday.

Authorities also charged Wengui's financier, Kin Ming Je, under the same indictment. Je, who remains at large, was also charged with obstruction of justice under the indictment.

Property records indicate Wengui's Connecticut home is listed under Greenwich Land LLC. The 21-room shingled home on Taconic Road was purchased for $4.6 million in February 2020. The structure was designed by a renowned architect and is clad in bullet-proof glass. Guo filed for bankruptcy and protection from numerous creditors last year in the District of Connecticut court. The bankruptcy filing states Guo has lost most of his assets after they were seized by the Chinese government.

Federal prosecutors said Wengui left China around 2015 and sought political asylum in the U.S. as Chinese President Xi Jinping began cracking down on corruption. Chinese authorities have accused Wengui of rape, kidnapping and bribery among other offenses, the Associated Press reported.

In the U.S., Wengui became close to Bannon, a former White House chief strategist under President Donald Trump. In 2020, federal agents arrested Bannon while he was onboard Wengui's yacht, the Lady May, moored off Westbrook. Bannon was accused of defrauding investors to an online campaign dubbed "We Build the Wall." The case was dropped after Trump pardoned Bannon and others before he left office.

Wengui's 2017 application for political asylum in the U.S. remains pending, prosecutors wrote in his detention memo. That same year he began drawing attention for his "claimed fight" against the Chinese Communist Party, federal prosecutors wrote in the court filing.

'Fictitious investment opportunities'

Beginning in 2018, federal prosecutors said Wengui, Je and others conspired to defraud investors through "complex fraudulent businesses and fictitious investment opportunities" linked to entities run by Wengui, according to court documents. Federal prosecutors said the money was laundered in the U.S. and overseas, used to promote the ongoing fraud schemes and "misappropriated" by Wengui and Je for their own personal benefit, the court documents stated.

Between April and June 2020, federal prosecutors allege Wengui sold about $452 million of stock in GTV Media Group Inc., a venture they claimed was a media company. The funds were raised from more than 5,500 investors that was then "funneled" through bank accounts controlled by Wengui or his associates, according to court documents.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and bank closures ended the scheme, according to court documents. But last June, federal prosecutors said Wengui devised a workaround, a "loan offering" that allowed people to invest in GTV through "farms," which officials said were "collectives of individuals located in various cities who are purportedly focused on promoting democratic reforms in China," the court documents stated. Federal prosecutors said Wengui solicited investors by offering loans to a farm and promising the money could be converted to GTV stock, according to the documents.

Federal prosecutors said some of that money was siphoned off to close relatives of Wengui, the court documents stated. About $2.3 million went to pay for maintenance on Wengui's yacht, according to the documents.

In October 2020, federal prosecutors said Wengui also began soliciting memberships to an online club known as G|CLUBS, which billed itself as "an exclusive, high-end membership program offering a full spectrum of services," the U.S. attorney's office said. Wengui also claimed in videos that membership included stock in his businesses, including GTV, according to court documents.

"Although G|CLUBS members purchased hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of G|CLUBS memberships, the money did not fund G|CLUBS's illusory membership services," prosecutors wrote in the detention memo.

Instead, federal prosecutors contend a large portion of the money was also siphoned off for Wengui and Je's personal use, including a custom-made Bugatti sports car for Wengui's relative and his $26.5 million mansion purchased in December 2021 in Mahwah, N.J., the court documents stated.

Other funds raised by the G|CLUBS venture "were used to pay for renovations to the Mahwah mansion and furnishings for Wengui's homes, including more than $1 million for rugs, a $53,000 fireplace log holder, more than $30,000 for a bed, $70,000 for two mattresses, a $59,000 box to store luxury watches and two $180,000 tables," the court filing stated.

"According to witnesses, Kwok has surrounded himself with around-the-clock armed security guards who are formally employed by an entity that is funded by proceeds of Kwok's fraud scheme," the detention filing stated. "In addition, Kwok appears to travel among his residences in a caravan of luxury automobiles."

Cryptocurrency 'ecosystem'

Federal prosecutors said Wengui, Je and others launched a fourth scheme in April 2021, when Wengui began promoting the "Himalaya Exchange," which he claimed was a cryptocurrency "ecosystem," the court documents stated. The exchange purported to include a "stablecoin," called Himalaya Dollar or "HDO," which was backed "1-to-$1" by cash or gold, court documents stated. Federal prosecutors said the exchange also included a "trading coin" called "Himalaya Coin," HCN or H Coin, which traded on the market and Wengui promoted in a music video showing him smoking a cigar and driving a sports car.

Prosecutors said there was no evidence "Himalaya assets can be redeemed for gold" or that Wengui personally guaranteed traders against losses on the exchange, despite boasting in videos posted online that "if anyone loses money, I can say that I will compensate 100 percent."

In September and October, the government seized some $335 million in bank accounts associated with the Himalaya Exchange, according to court documents.

"Days after the initial seizures in September 2022, Je, the financial architect of Kwok's billion-dollar fraud, tried to misappropriate approximately $46 million held by the Himalaya Exchange for his own benefit," federal prosecutors said in the court documents.

Prosecutors said Je tried to "redeem" HDO and transfer the money to an account in the United Arab Emirates before it could be seized.

"Je even told the bank that the 'redemption' needed to happen 'today or it is meaningless,'" the court filings stated.