# Miles Guo Chinese billionaire exile who forged a close alliance with [[Steve Bannon]] around shared anti-CCP rhetoric, then was convicted of defrauding his own followers of more than $1 billion. ## Background Guo Wengui (also known as Miles Guo or Ho Wan Kwok) was a Chinese real estate magnate who fled China, claiming to be a political dissident targeted by the CCP. He arrived in the US and cultivated relationships in right-wing political circles, most notably with [[Steve Bannon]]. ## The Bannon Alliance Guo and Bannon formed a mutually beneficial relationship: Bannon lent political credibility and media reach; Guo provided funding. One of Guo's firms paid Bannon **$1 million** as a consultant. Together they launched the **[[New Federal State of China]]** (NFSC) in 2020 — an initiative claiming to seek the overthrow of the CCP — and launched **GTV Media Group** and associated investment/cryptocurrency schemes promoted to Guo's online followers. Bannon was arrested **on Guo's yacht** in August 2020 — though for the separate "We Build the Wall" fraud, not for Guo-related offenses. ## Fraud and Conviction In March 2023, Guo was arrested in New York. Federal prosecutors charged him with operating a massive fraud scheme that bilked his online followers — many of them Chinese diaspora members — through fake cryptocurrency investments, a fraudulent media company (GTV), and other vehicles. In **July 2024**, Guo was convicted on **9 of 12 counts** including racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He faces decades in prison. Bannon was not charged in the Guo fraud case. ## Significance The Guo case illustrates several dynamics in the China-right wing intersection: the exploitation of genuine anti-CCP sentiment for personal enrichment, the vulnerability of diaspora communities to charismatic exile figures, and the willingness of figures like Bannon to lend credibility to questionable actors when aligned interests exist.