Federal prosecutors allege that in a “sprawling, transnational scheme,” Guan and others used cryptocurrency to buy proceeds obtained via insurance coverage fraud and different unlawful means earlier than shifting it to numerous accounts related to the Epoch Occasions, contributing to a leap within the firm’s income of round 410 p.c. Guan claimed the elevated income got here from donations, the Justice Division stated.
In a press release issued Monday, the Epoch Occasions stated it will cooperate with the investigation and had suspended Guan till the matter is resolved.
The operation was carried out by a division beneath Guan’s administration referred to as the “Make Cash On-line” workforce, prosecutors allege. The workforce is accused of utilizing cryptocurrency to purchase crime proceeds — together with “fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance coverage advantages” — at 70 to 80 cents on the greenback.
The cash was then deposited into financial institution accounts opened utilizing stolen private identification info and transferred to accounts related to Guan and the Epoch Occasions, in accordance with the Justice Division.
The Epoch Occasions was based in 2000 by Chinese language People in an effort to counter Chinese language authorities propaganda. It has lengthy denied ties to the Falun Gong, a religious motion that has been banned by the Chinese language Communist Get together — however specialists say the publication is sympathetic to the motion and has mirrored the Falun Gong’s political positions in its protection of the Chinese language authorities, The Washington Submit has reported.
The Epoch Occasions grew from a free newspaper in New York to a media firm with a presence all through the Western world and Asia in languages together with English and Chinese language, although it’s not banned in China.
In 2019, it was barred from advertising on Facebook due to its pro-Trump adverts that the social community stated breached its guidelines about political promoting and transparency. The newspaper objected to the ban and stated it had been operating a “very fashionable digital advertising and marketing marketing campaign for our print-newspaper subscriptions.”
An NBC News investigation that yr discovered the outlet had spent greater than $1.5 million over six months to spice up hundreds of pro-Trump posts, probably the most of any group in addition to Donald Trump’s official marketing campaign. The Epoch Occasions stated the report was “incorrect.”
