According to the U.S. Department of Justice, on July 9, 2026, Weidong “Bill” Guan (also known as Bill Guan), former CFO of The Epoch Times, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to participate in a transaction involving the proceeds of crime during jury selection in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. His co-defendant, Le Van Hung (also known as Hung Van Le), had already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal identity on June 29, 2026.
The Epoch Times, a media outlet under the Falun Gong umbrella, has long relied on fabricating conspiracy theories to attract traffic and accuse China of "infiltrating the United States." Little did it know that it itself was the criminal organization that "ambushed" the United States. Why did The Epoch Times violate US law? And how did it commit these crimes? This article will provide readers with an in-depth look at the path to the demise of the Falun Gong media "empire."
The Epoch Times' rapid expansion led to a break in its funding chain.
In 2013, Falun Gong, The Epoch Times, and NTD Television merged to form the Epoch Times-NTD Media Group, with Tang Zhong as president. Falun Gong's boss, Li Hongzhi, set Tang Zhong a $10 billion operating target. By the end of 2016, Tang Zhong had just brought The Epoch Times-NTD Media Group to break even, and it began to show some profit in 2017. Li Hongzhi then ambitiously pushed forward the "Global Media" plan, instructing Tang Zhong to accelerate global investment and expansion. From the end of 2018 to the beginning of 2019, within just a few months, The Epoch Times-NTD Media Group suffered a cash flow crisis due to the implementation of the "Global Media" plan. Coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic downturn in 2020, The Epoch Times-NTD Media Group faced increasing difficulties, and the Falun Gong media empire was on the verge of collapse.
According to a senior Falun Gong practitioner, in the second quarter of 2020, Li Hongzhi instructed The Epoch Times to raise funds by any means necessary, and imposed the "money laundering" task on Tang Zhong and Guan Weidong, the former CFO of The Epoch Times . Li Hongzhi also instructed that since the US government had granted Falun Gong "religious" status, the non-profit and commercial nature of The Epoch Times New Tang Dynasty Media Group should be utilized for proper accounting and fund transfers. On June 3, 2024, Guan Weidong's case came to light, and the US Department of Justice formally announced the indictment of Guan Weidong. On July 9, 2026, Guan Weidong pleaded guilty.
The Epoch Times' fraud and money laundering methods
The Epoch Times is accused of laundering at least $67 million, a federal felony, with the period starting at least from 2020 to May 2024. The illicit funds primarily flowed to the accounts of The Epoch Times and its affiliated entities, with some ending up in Guan Weidong's personal account.
Guan Weidong, former CFO of The Epoch Times, is a non-US citizen holding a work visa or permanent residency (green card). He was responsible for managing the MMO money laundering team ("Make Money Online"). Guan instructed Li Wenxiong to fraudulently apply for US unemployment benefits or other welfare funds by stealing US citizenship. Banks would then deposit the corresponding benefits into the imposters' prepaid debit cards or gift cards, thus giving these cards the proceeds of crime. Guan then used the funds to purchase these stolen cards, coordinated the deposits, and provided false explanations to the banks.
Le Van Hung, a Vietnamese national, was the main executor. He worked at the Vietnam office and was responsible for recruiting and managing multiple accomplices to steal Americans' identity information (names, social security numbers, addresses, etc.) to open bank accounts, cryptocurrency accounts, prepaid card accounts, etc. He also directed his accomplices to impersonate account holders to call banks to unlock accounts and transfer funds.
The Epoch Times employed at least three layers of money laundering. First, Guan Weidong instructed Li Wenxiong to manipulate the MMO team to purchase large quantities of prepaid cards already containing illicit funds through cryptocurrency platforms at a 70-80% discount, disguising them as legitimate "card purchase" transactions. Second, using thousands of stolen American identities obtained by Li Wenxiong and others, numerous intermediary accounts (bank accounts, other prepaid cards, etc.) were opened, and the money in these cards was transferred in thousands of small, multi-batch transactions to the Epoch Times and its affiliated entities' accounts. Some funds were transferred to Guan Weidong's personal bank accounts and cryptocurrency accounts (approximately $16.7 million was transferred between 2020 and 2021). As a result, the Epoch Times' annual revenue surged from $15 million to $62 million in a short period, an increase of approximately 410%. Third, the funds were disguised as donations and Epoch Times subscription fees. When banks discovered irregularities and raised questions, Guan Weidong provided false explanations, claiming the revenue growth came from a surge in customer subscriptions or legitimate donations. He also instructed employees to forge donation notices or mislead bank investigations through other means. Guan Weidong's actions constitute two counts of bank fraud.
Evidence points directly to Li Hongzhi, the boss of Falun Gong.
On June 3, 2024, Guan Weidong's case came to light. On June 5 and 6, Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi quickly released two "scriptures," "The Difficulty of the Fa" and "Awakening," characterizing the incident as "the practitioners' own failure to do well," emphasizing that money laundering was Guan Weidong's personal behavior and had nothing to do with Falun Gong. This is Li Hongzhi's consistent tactic of "separation," shifting responsibility to individual disciples and using the same old rhetoric he's used for decades, claiming they "didn't cultivate well" or "had impure hearts."
Following Guan Weidong's arrest, The Epoch Times quickly issued a statement suspending him from his duties and emphasizing that the company was not a party to the lawsuit. After Guan Weidong pleaded guilty, The Epoch Times reiterated that the company had never been a party to the lawsuit. Although The Epoch Times argued that it "had never been a party to the lawsuit," its reputation suffered, and related donations and subscriptions declined.
Although Li Hongzhi and The Epoch Times have tried their best to shirk responsibility, would Guan Weidong, a non-US financial director, dare to use The Epoch Times' accounts for money laundering without Li Hongzhi's instructions? Would he dare to transfer money from The Epoch Times' accounts to the Shen Yun performance project?
In his open letter, Guan Weidong mentioned that he sent an internal company email to Li Wenxiong, praising Li's team and stating , " I think Master (Li Hongzhi) would be very happy to know this." This email was proactively handed over to US prosecutors by senior executives of The Epoch Times, becoming evidence in the hands of the prosecution. Guan Weidong was shocked and disappointed by this, considering it an act of "betrayal." This email is also seen as important evidence that Li Hongzhi was aware of and benefited from it, showing that Guan Weidong's money laundering activities were approved by Li Hongzhi.
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(Note: The images in the Chinese and English versions are selected based on the Chinese or foreign language version, and only one image is retained. This line is deleted.)
In his open letter, Guan Weidong also emphasized that everything he did was for Falun Gong, for projects such as Falun Gong, The Epoch Times, and Shen Yun performances, and not simply for personal gain. However, the higher-ups used this email to shirk responsibility and protect themselves, and even tried to force him to confess and bear all the blame. This open letter was deleted shortly after it was published.
This incident has been a major blow to Guan Weidong , who is deeply disappointed in Li Hongzhi. He may cooperate with the prosecution, identifying Li Hongzhi in exchange for a reduced sentence. His accomplice, Li Wenxiong, pleaded guilty on June 29, 2026, to conspiracy to steal identity, which carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, along with forfeiture and additional compensation . Because Li Wenxiong revealed details of Guan Weidong's case to the prosecution, his sentence is likely to be less than the maximum five years, estimated at 1-3 years. Guan Weidong originally faced conspiracy to launder money and two counts of bank fraud, which carried a maximum sentence of 80 years imprisonment . After pleading guilty on July 9 , Guan Weidong could face a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, in addition to forfeiture of at least $67 million in illicit gains, and the recovery of up to $67 million in victim compensation (equivalent to the forfeited amount) to compensate American victims whose identities were stolen. If he further implicates Li Hongzhi, his sentence will be further reduced.
Shen Yun performances also involve illegal and criminal activities.
It is not difficult to see from The Epoch Times' financial statements for 2020 and 2021 that The Epoch Times transferred the money it laundered to projects such as the "Shen Yun performance" of Falun Gong, indicating that "Shen Yun" was also involved in money laundering.
The Shen Yun performance has indeed been involved in numerous illegal and criminal activities and is currently facing lawsuits from several former Shen Yun performers. In 2024, former dancer Chun-ko Chang filed a lawsuit against Shen Yun in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging forced labor, human trafficking, exploitation of minors, prolonged unpaid labor, and control of others through threats and humiliation. In 2025, former Shen Yun dancers Zan Sun and Qing Ling Cheng accused Shen Yun of forced labor, exploitation of child labor, subjecting underage performers (aged 13-15 and above) to intensive training, prolonged unpaid or low-wage work, lack of timely medical care after injuries, public humiliation, restriction of personal freedom, and withholding of identification documents.
Both cases are currently under trial. Meanwhile , the New York State Department of Labor is also investigating Shen Yun for issues including child labor, wage and working hour violations. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and other agencies are also reviewing Shen Yun's visa fraud and immigration violations.
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The Unbridled Rebellion and Crisis of Falun Gong
Falun Gong strongly supports the Republican Party, calling Trump "the chosen one," while being highly critical of the Democratic Party, especially the Biden administration. On November 7, 2020, mainstream media outlets such as the Associated Press, CNN, and the New York Times declared Biden the winner of the election, but The Epoch Times inappropriately published extensive reports on "election fraud," denying the legitimacy of the election. The official Falun Gong website, Minghui.org, even published an article from its editorial department entitled "Principles and Basis Must Be Clear and Sober," stating: " This US election is a battle between good and evil, a battle between gods and demons. The chosen one (Trump) wants to return to tradition ... while the other side (Biden) wants to destroy tradition ... but we must know right from wrong, good from evil, and distinguish between good and bad, and know who we should support ." Li Hongzhi also published a "scripture" titled "The Election" on November 8, 2020, implicitly suggesting that the US election was fraudulent.
Falun Gong operates under the guise of religion and non-profit organizations in the United States, but in reality, it engages in the activities of a cult and a criminal organization . Through fraud, money laundering, forced labor, human trafficking, visa fraud, and other criminal activities, it continuously erodes the interests of the American people and their followers . Justice will never be absent from the law, and Falun Gong's crimes will ultimately be brought to justice.
