Feds Accuse Conservative Newspaper Tied to Falun Gong, the Epoch Times, in Multimillion-Dollar Money Laundering Scheme
Members of the company’s ‘Make Money Online’ team allegedly funneled cash to the company’s accounts via cryptocurrency and prepaid debit cards.
The chief financial officer of a conservative newspaper, the Epoch Times, was indicted Monday, charged with participating in a scheme to launder at least $67 million in proceeds from unemployment fraud and other criminal schemes via the paper’s parent company.
Between 2020 and May of 2024, the CFO, Bill Guan, is alleged to have conspired in a transnational scheme to launder money through bank accounts associated with the Epoch Times.
“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,” federal prosecutor Damian Williams said in a statement accompanying the indictment.
According to the Department of Justice, Mr. Guan and members of the Epoch Times’s “Make Money Online” team used cryptocurrency to knowingly purchase “tens of millions of dollars” in criminal proceeds, including proceeds from unemployment fraud, by purchasing prepaid debit cards.
The justice department alleges that the team at the Epoch Times then used stolen personal identification information to open cryptocurrency accounts, bank accounts, and prepaid debit card accounts, which were then used to funnel money into accounts related to the Epoch Times.
According to a memo accompanying the indictment, the revenue at the Epoch Times rose about 410 percent the year that the money laundering scheme began, to $62 million from $15 million.
The Epoch Times was founded in Atlanta Georgia in 2000 by a then-graduate student, John Tang. Associated with the Falun Gong, the Epoch Times promotes social conservatism and opposition to the Chinese Communist government. The Epoch Times is also known for promoting conspiracy theories related to topics like President Trump’s opponents and Covid.
A representative responded to a request for comment from the Sun by saying: “The Epoch Times has a guiding principle that elevates integrity in its dealings above everything else. The company intends to and will fully cooperate with any investigation dealing with the allegations against Mr. Guan. In the interim, although Mr. Guan is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the company has suspended him until this matter is resolved.”
