Former CFO pleads guilty to conspiracy in $67 million fraud scheme

The former chief financial officer of The Epoch Times 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.

He admitted participation in 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 carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The agreement with prosecutors spares him from facing other charges at trial that could have resulted in more than a decade in prison. " "This was a tremendous lapse in judgment," Guan told the court.

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The money was further laundered through other bank accounts held by the company and Guan's personal bank and cryptocurrency accounts. Federal prosecutors said the media company's revenues jumped approximately 410 percent when the money laundering began, from approximately $15 million to $62 million.

Guan lied to banks about the increase in transactions, stating there was an increase in legitimate donations.

The Epoch Times said in a statement that it was never a party to the litigation and remains focused on producing journalism under the leadership of its chief executive, Samuel Zhou, and its chief financial officer, William Cheung.