Jury selection interrupted as Guan enters plea in $67M scheme
Weidong “Bill” Guan, the former chief financial officer of The Epoch Times, interrupted jury selection at his money laundering trial Thursday to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge in a $67 million fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said.
Guan, 63, who lives in Secaucus, New Jersey, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court before Judge Victor Marrero, admitting his role in what prosecutors described as a scheme to launder fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits and other funds through the New York-based media company’s bank accounts and related entities.
The conspiracy charge, which relates to illegal financial transactions, carries a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years. The plea agreement with prosecutors spares Guan from the possibility that he would be convicted of other charges at trial and face more than a decade in prison, according to court proceedings.
Judge Marrero did not immediately set a sentencing date, and Guan remains free on bail pending sentencing.