Former Epoch Times CFO pleads guilty in a case tied to roughly $67 million in laundered funds and faces significant forfeiture and restitution obligations.
The former chief financial officer of the Epoch Times, Weidong Guan, 63, of Secaucus, New Jersey, has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count charging him with engaging in transactions involving criminal proceeds. The charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and Guan has agreed to forfeit at least $67 million while also accepting potential restitution up to $67 million. Officials made clear the criminal conduct described in the filings does not involve the paper’s newsgathering activities. He entered his plea before District Judge Victor Marrero and a sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court filings, the scheme unfolded from at least 2019 through about May 2024 and targeted the inflow of roughly $67 million of illicit funds into bank accounts tied to the Epoch Times and related entities. Investigators say Guan and others moved illicit proceeds by buying them through third-party gift cards and prepaid debit cards, then disguising the returns as donations to the organization. Those purchases were reportedly made at steep discounts, roughly 70 to 80 cents on the dollar, which is central to how the funds were laundered back into company accounts.
When banks raised red flags about suspicious transactions, prosecutors say Guan supplied misleading information to conceal the true source of the money and to make the transfers appear legitimate. That effort to explain away the unusual flows is cited in the charging documents as part of the conspiracy to process criminal proceeds through corporate accounts. The plea requires forfeiture of property tied to the offense and leaves open the possibility of substantial restitution to victims.
Federal prosecutors described the mechanics in stark terms, noting the use of preloaded cards and sham donation records to mask the origin and movement of funds. The criminal count Guan admitted to centers on conspiring to engage in transactions involving criminal proceeds, an offense that draws both prison exposure and financial penalties. Court filings highlight layers of transactions and third-party intermediaries meant to obfuscate the trail back to illegal sources.
“Weidong Guan orchestrated an elaborate multimillion-dollar money laundering scheme to increase revenues at the company where he served as Chief Financial Officer,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Corporate leaders like Guan should take notice: boosting revenues through crime will not pay. This Office is committed to holding perpetrators of financial crimes accountable and compensating victims.”
One of Guan’s co-conspirators, Le Van Hung, also known as “Hung Van Le” or “Van Hung Le,” pleaded guilty on June 29, 2026, to participating in a conspiracy to commit identity theft tied to the laundering operation. Hung is scheduled to be sentenced on October 9, 2026, and his plea is noted in filings that trace how identity misuse fed into the broader financial scheme. The docket entries make clear the government pursued related charges against multiple participants as it untangled the network of transactions.
The Department of Justice credited investigative work by several agencies, including the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and Special Agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin M. Burkett, Rebecca T. Dell, Paul M. Monteleoni, Daniel C. Richenthal, and Amanda C. Weingarten leading the prosecution. Paralegal Specialists William Spehr and Emma Vorchheimer are assisting with the matter as it moves toward sentencing proceedings.
The statutory maximum in the charge is set by Congress and serves as informational context; any actual punishment will be determined by the judge at sentencing after consideration of the plea agreement and federal sentencing guidelines. The financial remedies tied to the plea—both forfeiture and potential restitution—mean the case will involve complex asset recovery and accounting work moving forward. For now, the guilty plea marks a major development in a case that federal officials describe as a sophisticated, international laundering scheme funneled through corporate accounts.
https://x.com/SDNYnews/status/2075679426621124641
