A Manhattan federal judge set a 2025 date Friday for former Epoch Times executive Weidong Guan to stand trial for allegedly using the newspaper as a front to launder $67 million of crime proceeds, following the extradition of a second defendant.
Guan, who had worked as chief financial officer at the media concern, appeared before U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero at an afternoon hearing alongside co-defendant Le Van Hung, 29, of Vietnam. Le is charged in a separate indictment with assisting Guan in a "sprawling, transnational" conspiracy. Le arrived in the U.S. last month and is in custody.
Judge Marrero set down an Oct. 6 date for a trial for both men that could last four weeks, amid ongoing government discovery production from what prosecutor Jane Kim of the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office described as a slew of responsive devices.
In aid of Guan, over four years starting in 2020, Le allegedly used cryptocurrency to purchase "tens of millions" of dollars' worth of unspecified crime proceeds, according to prosecutors. Via thousands of transactions Le allegedly moved dirty money into accounts controlled by the media concern.
Le also "transferred personal identification information of U.S. residents, and tracked transactions, stolen identity information" and accounts, the indictment charging him says. Along with a count of money-laundering conspiracy, Le also is charged with bank fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
Guan, 61, of Secaucus, New Jersey, is charged with money laundering conspiracy and two counts of bank fraud. He was set free on $3 million bail after his June arrest. He often goes by Bill Guan. At the Epoch Times, Guan's job was to manage the news company's so-called Make Money Online team, located abroad, according to the feds. As he sought to launder money, he allegedly lied to banks about its source, telling them the funds came from an increase in customer subscriptions. Le, too, was part of the Make Money Online team, per charging documents. He had been tasked with recruiting and managing unnamed, additional co-conspirators, according to the feds.
The Epoch Times is a China-focused newspaper and online publication that opposes China.
Guan is represented by Guy Petrillo, Kevin Puvalowski and Marcelo Triana of Petrillo Klein & Boxer LLP. Le is represented by Megan Benett of Kreindler & Kreindler LLP.
The government is represented by Jane Kim, Emily Deininger and Rebecca Dell of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
The case is USA v. Guan et al., case number 1:24-cr-00322, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Source Link: https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/2270674/2-accused-of-using-paper-as-crime-front-get-2025-trial-date?copied=1
