Chinese businessman arrested in $1 billion fraud conspiracy
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A self-exiled Chinese businessman has pleaded not guilty in New York to charges alleging that he oversaw a $1 billion fraud conspiracy. Guo Wengui and his financier, Kin Ming Je, were charged in an indictment in federal court in Manhattan with various charges, including wire, securities and bank fraud. His chief of staff, Yanping Wang, was also charged. Guo was detained. Yanping’s bail was set at $5 million. Prosecutors said the arrests Wednesday and the indictment stemmed from a complex scheme in which the defendants lied to hundreds of thousands of online followers before misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars. Je has not been arrested.