Bill Guan Laundered $67M in Fraud Proceeds

NEW YORK, NY – Chief Financial Officer of Multinational Media Company Charged in Complex Money Laundering Scheme

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Jonathan Mellone, the Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (“DOL-OIG”); and Andrew Wroblewski, the Assistant Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (“DSS”) Domestic Operations, announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging WEIDONG GUAN, a/k/a “Bill Guan,” with participating in a transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds to benefit himself and the media company.

GUAN, the Chief Financial Officer of a multinational media company headquartered in New York City, was arrested yesterday morning and will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “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 and other crime proceeds. 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.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment: From at least in or about 2020, through in or about May 2024, GUAN conspired with others to participate in a sprawling, transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds to bank accounts in the names of the Media Company and related entities. In furtherance of the money laundering conspiracy, GUAN managed the Media Company’s “Make Money Online” team, which was located in a particular foreign office of the Media Company. Under GUAN’s management, members of the MMO Team and others used cryptocurrency to knowingly purchase tens of millions of dollars in crime proceeds, including proceeds of fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits, that had been loaded onto tens of thousands of prepaid debit cards.

The crime proceeds were generally purchased by the scheme participants, including members of the MMO Team and others working with them, using a particular cryptocurrency platform, at discounted rates of approximately 70 to 80 cents per dollar, and in exchange for cryptocurrency. Once the crime proceeds were purchased, the MMO Team and other participants in the scheme used stolen personal identification information to open accounts, including prepaid debit card accounts, cryptocurrency accounts, and bank accounts, that were then used to launder the crime proceeds into the financial system.

GUAN, if convicted, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count of money laundering and up to 5 years in prison on each count of conspiracy. The charges against GUAN are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice.