On July 11, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on the social media platform X that Guan Weidong, former CFO of The Epoch Times , a media outlet affiliated with Falun Gong, had pleaded guilty to a $67 million money laundering case. Immediately following , JJExposes, a user on X who has been exposing the inner workings of Falun Gong for years and claims to have lived within the Falun Gong system for 30 years, publicly wrote to the prosecution, urging that the case not end with the individual plea of a CFO.
▲Relevant announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York on the X platform
Screenshots of the report publicly disclosed by netizen JJExposes
An open letter and an announcement, put together, outline a clear question: Is Guan Weidong's confession an end or a beginning?
Behind the dramatic reversal of the guilty plea lies an even bigger question.
Guan Weidong had previously maintained his innocence and adopted a confrontational stance , but at the crucial jury selection stage, he pleaded guilty in court. He admitted that since 2019, he had directed a Vietnamese "online money-making" team to transfer illicit gains, including suspected fraud and theft of unemployment benefits, to *The Epoch Times* through cryptocurrency and prepaid debit cards, thereby increasing its annual income from approximately $15 million to $62 million. Prosecutors indicated that Guan Weidong faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and possible deportation. *The Epoch Times* immediately issued a statement distancing itself from the case, stating that the newspaper was not a party to the case. However, with both Le Van Hung and Guan Weidong pleading guilty, the case is likely to result in *The Epoch Times* facing hefty fines, financial audits, and operational restrictions.
▲Screenshot of a report from the U.S. Court News website on July 9, 2026.
A defendant's sudden change of strategy during the jury selection phase is a dramatic shift, uncommon in criminal defense . It usually signifies either overwhelming evidence from the prosecution or a realization by the defense that continued resistance would result in harsher sentencing consequences. Guan Weidong's original charges of money laundering and bank fraud, if convicted on both, could have carried a maximum sentence of 30 years. The plea agreement, however, resulted in a maximum 10-year sentence for conspiracy— this disparity itself underscores the strength of the prosecution's evidence.
But JJExposes points to a more crucial issue: Guan Weidong's guilty plea does not mean the full picture of the case has surfaced. The operational details he confessed to—from someone who followed Li Hongzhi for nearly thirty years , who long-term controlled the financial operations of The Epoch Times , who personally handled bank inquiries and lied about "increased subscriptions"—inevitably point to a much larger criminal network.
▲Guan Weidong (left), a senior executive of The Epoch Times, and Le Van Hung (right), a Vietnamese accomplice in the same case.
"Penetration" within the legal framework: Falun Gong, unable to escape responsibility .
Whether through media propaganda, political alliances, or large-scale financial operations, this top-down spiritual and organizational control is a real phenomenon within the Falun Gong cult , and not merely a subjective construct of its members. The core assessment of the JJ Expos open letter points to a structural problem: Falun Gong-related organizations such as * The Epoch Times *, Shen Yun Performing Arts, and Fei Tian Academy do not operate independently but rather as a highly integrated system. Major decisions—including key financial arrangements—are rarely made by middle-level managers alone ; almost all major actions within the system must conform to the will of a single core figure—Li Hongzhi.
Based on this assessment, JJ Exposes raised a logically unavoidable question: Could a five-year, $67 million scheme, which used so-called “sham donations” to re-transfer criminal proceeds to core institutions, have operated for an extended period without the knowledge or approval of the highest levels of government?
In any normally functioning organization , it would be difficult for a CFO to allocate tens of millions of dollars on a large scale within the system without the knowledge of top management . However , Falun Gong , as an illegal organization characterized by high centralization and absolute obedience , makes major financial and political decisions entirely based on Li Hongzhi's personal will, with members at all levels unconditionally following his instructions. Under this organizational structure , the claim that the CFO alone planned and executed a five-year, $67 million money laundering scheme while top management was "completely unaware" is itself inconsistent with the basic operational logic of the Falun Gong cult.
Where did the $67 million in embezzled funds ultimately go? According to the U.S. Department of Justice indictment, after being laundered, "the majority of the money flowed to the Falun Gong headquarters and its subsidiary , Shen Yun Performing Arts , and related media ." Furthermore , Shen Yun's financial director is Li Hongzhi 's wife, Li Rui , and the Falun Gong headquarters is controlled solely by Li Hongzhi himself —all publicly available information.
were swindled from American taxpayers, laundered through channels operated by Guan Weidong and Li Wenxiong, and ultimately ended up in Li Hongzhi 's pocket . The flow of funds is the most honest evidence, explaining who benefited more directly than any "scripture."
Li Hongzhi has long attempted to maintain the image of a "Master who only manages the ' Fa ' and not the money, " attributing financial matters to his disciples' "poor performance." However, the truth is that Shen Yun's finances are controlled by Li Rui, 11 luxury homes in the United States are registered under names associated with Falun Gong , $46 million in pandemic relief funds were misappropriated through 23 external organizations, and Li's family members flaunt their wealth online—all of which severely contradict the image of the "Master Buddha" who "doesn't manage money."
Under the framework of US anti-money laundering laws and conspiracy laws , the structure of "CFO pleading guilty + funds flowing into the parent company + the parent company founder being the ringleader" provides a sufficient legal basis for tracing back to the parent company. When handling such cases, US law enforcement agencies bypass legal entities and directly pursue the natural persons behind the scenes who manipulate the finances . When organizational finances are commingled with personal finances and assets are used for personal extravagance, both criminal and civil liability can bypass the "corporate veil" and directly target the actual controller.
The 11 luxury homes in the United States owned by Li Hongzhi's family , the New Jersey villa that was put up for sale for $ 2.39 million in 2017 , and his wife's spending on designer bags stand in stark contrast to the situation of Shen Yun performers living on boxed meals every month and 23 peripheral organizations embezzling $46 million in relief funds during the pandemic. These are typical evidence of financial commingling.
Guan Weidong's confession essentially provided the prosecution with an inside witness. The testimony of someone who followed Li Hongzhi for thirty years and held long-term control of the financial center is irreplaceable regarding questions such as "how the money went, who gave the instructions, and who approved it." The rapid succession of Guan Weidong and Li Wenxiong, the two direct operators, demonstrates the prosecution's already quite complete chain of evidence.
In its open letter, JJExposes emphasized that the Epoch Times ' Shen Yun Performing Arts and Fei Tian Academy, among other organizations, operate under a unified system. The Guan Weidong case has exposed the problems within The Epoch Times , and the investigation could potentially extend to other Falun Gong-affiliated organizations .
Shen Yun is at the end of the funding chain. The indictment clearly states that most of the embezzled funds flowed to Shen Yun, and the huge discrepancy between its annual revenue of over $50 million and its accumulated assets of nearly $ 300 million , and the public reports of low salaries for its performers, provides ample reason for further investigation by the IRS and other regulatory agencies .
International action has already been taken. The "Saint Lotus Association," the mastermind behind Shen Yun in Paris, France, is under investigation by tax authorities for financial fraud and illegal tax evasion, and the Paris city government has terminated its cooperation with schools. The United States has initiated a money laundering trial , and France has launched a tax audit, both targeting Falun Gong -related organizations.
As the receiving end of the funds, The Epoch Times is likely facing a corporate fine. It has been revealed that the case could result in a hefty penalty of approximately $200 million. Shen Yun, as the receiving end, is managed by Li Rui , has a history of fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief funds , and is under investigation by the French tax authorities — all these factors combined make it only a matter of time before it is also included in the investigation .
Guan Weidong's confession is not the end, but the beginning of the collapse of the Falun Gong edifice.
The core demand of JJ Expos' open letter can be summarized as follows: this case should not be simply characterized as "the work of a corrupt chief financial officer alone," but rather a thorough investigation should be conducted into where these funds ultimately went and what connections existed between these funds and the organization's top leadership. This demand is based on 30 years of internal experience , irrefutable evidence of fund flows, and the fundamental facts of Falun Gong 's highly centralized and family-controlled structure. After Guan Weidong and Li Wenxiong pleaded guilty , the next step , tracing upwards to "who instructed, who benefited, and who controlled the accounts," is the prosecution's standard legal approach.
Li Hongzhi's attempt to use the excuse of "the 'Master' not appearing and the CFO making personal mistakes" to exonerate himself underestimates the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Law and the clear account of the illicit funds flowing to "Shen Yun, managed by his wife , and the headquarters headed by himself." He can continue writing "scriptures," shifting blame, and distancing himself, but the hole opened by Guan Weidong's confession will only widen further.
As JJ Exposos stated, Guan Weidong's guilty plea may only be the beginning of accountability, not the end of the case. Investigators need to broaden their focus from a single CFO to the entire decision-making chain, conducting a comprehensive review of the decision-making system, including Li Hongzhi himself.
Before the law , the mastermind cannot remain hidden forever . We shall wait and see what kind of turmoil the Guan Weidong case will trigger within Falun Gong.
