Bannon Just Named Co-Conspirator In Fraud, Racketeering Case
In a little-noticed court filing recently, feds described sleazy former Trump advisor Steve Bannon as a “co-conspirator” in a massive criminal fraud and racketeering case against a flamboyant, far-right Chinese fugitive -- you know, the guy with the yacht where Bannon was hiding out? Via Mother Jones:
FBI agents in March 2023 arrested Guo Wengui, a self-styled anti-Chinese government activist Bannon once advised, charging him and two associates with using a series of fraudulent investment opportunities to defraud thousands of Guo’s supporters in the Chinese diaspora of more than $1 billion.
Guo used the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and his family, including a $3.5 million Ferrari, a $26 million mansion, a $140,000 piano, and two $36,000 mattresses, the Justice Department alleges. Guo, who also goes by the names Miles Guo and Ho Wan Kwok, has pleaded not guilty. He has claimed his prosecution was the result of Chinese government pressure on the Justice Department. Deemed a flight risk, Guo has been denied bail and jailed since his arrest.
Bannon worked as an adviser for Guo from 2017 until at least 2020, helping Guo launch a series of media companies, nonprofits, and other ventures. In June 2020, Guo and Bannon founded a group dubbed the New Federal State of China, which they claimed was a government in waiting preparing to replace the Chinese Communist Party.