Chinese business tycoon convicted of defrauding followers in $1bn scheme

Guo Wengui, who gained fans for criticizing Communist party in China, found guilty in US of nine criminal counts

Guo Wengui, a self-exiled Chinese business tycoon whose criticism of the Communist party won him legions of online followers and powerful friends in the American conservative movement, was convicted by a US jury on Tuesday of engaging in an enormous multi-year fraud that ripped off some of his most devoted fans.

Once believed to be among the richest people in China, Guo was arrested in New York in March 2023 and accused of operating a racketeering enterprise that stretched from 2018 through 2023.