Controversial exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui — an associate of former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon — was arrested Wednesday in New York for allegedly orchestrating a complex $1 billion fraud scheme that duped online followers with promises of outsized investment returns.
Guo allegedly used some of the money raised through his company GTV Media and other entities to buy a 50,000-square foot New Jersey mansion, a $37 million yacht, a $3.5 million Ferrari for his son, a $140,000 Bosendorfer piano and two Hasten 2000T mattresses that cost a whopping $36,000 apiece.
Prosecutors seized more than $650 million in alleged fraud proceeds from 21 different bank accounts and assets that included a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster automobile as part of the case against Guo and his financial advisor William Je in Manhattan federal court.
Guo, 52, pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan. He postponed a bail application until his lawyers return from out of town. A public defender who handled the hearing for Guo had no comment.