July 10, 2026 / 6:37 AM EDT
/ AP
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New York — The former chief financial officer of The Epoch Times, a conservative multinational media company, interrupted jury selection at his money laundering trial on Thursday to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge in a $67 million fraud scheme.Weidong "Bill" Guan, 63, of Secaucus, New Jersey, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court, admitting his participation 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 relating to illegal financial transactions carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, but the deal with prosecutors spares him from the possibility that he would be convicted of other charges at trial and face the chance of more than a decade in prison. Judge Victor Marrero did not immediately set a sentencing date for Guan, who remains free on bail. As he admitted his role, Guan said he knew there was "a high probability" that money passing through accounts he oversaw "were the proceeds of criminality." He said that despite the probability that the money was linked to fraud, he "chose to accept" explanations he was given and "did not look deeper to verify my concerns." "This was a tremendous lapse in judgment," Guan told the judge. "It was wrong and I am very sorry for my actions."
