A US judge sentenced Chinese businessman Miles Guo, the billionaire behind the fraudulent crypto company Himalaya Coin, to 30 years in prison, long after a trial jury found the well-connected defendant guilty of several crimes in 2024.
Guo, 55, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and several other aliases, was a self-imposed exile from China who had a close relationship with Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former strategist who has had his own legal entanglements. In 2021, Guo had promoted his fraudulent cryptocurrency, known as H-Coin, telling potential buyers that it was 20% backed by gold and that the deal would cover 100% of investment losses.
He was said to have obtained $500 million in investments, which was just one element of what U.S. authorities called “interrelated fraud schemes” perpetrated over five years, leading to his conviction on charges including extortion, fraud and money laundering.
