纽约时报中文网 - 英文原版-英Chinese Billionaire and Bannon Ally Is Convicted of Fraud
July 17, 2024 3 min 440 words
《纽约时报》的这篇报道主要内容是：中国亿万富翁前特朗普顾问班农的盟友郭文贵及其业务伙伴在纽约被定罪，罪名是策划价值数十亿美元的投资诈骗计划。报道提及郭文贵在2017年揭露了中共高层的内斗，班农在2020年被控洗钱等。报道重点强调了郭文贵班农两人过往的“政治敏感”行为，以及郭文贵在庭审中表现“怪异”。 评论：这篇报道有以下几个方面的问题： 首先，报道过度强调郭文贵和班农的政治背景，以吸引眼球，但对于两人诈骗罪名本身的细节交代较少，有转移焦点之嫌。 其次，报道以“怪异”形容郭文贵的庭上表现，带有强烈的个人色彩和价值判断，有失客观。 此外，报道未提及具体审判过程和证据，而过度关注郭文贵过往的“爆料”行为，有利用公众对郭文贵的认知来渲染该案件的倾向，有失公正。 综上，该报道有以偏概全主观臆断的倾向，对于客观呈现事实真相帮助有限。
Guo Wengui, the exiled Chinese billionaire who transformed himself from a Beijing insider into a fierce critic of the Chinese Communist Party and a favorite of the American right, was convicted on Tuesday of defrauding investors of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mr. Guo, also known as Miles Guo, was accused of using a number of schemes — club memberships, cryptocurrencies, a sale of private shares in his media company — to fleece his followers and maintain a lavish lifestyle. On the fourth day of deliberations, a jury in the Southern District of New York found him guilty on nine of 12 charges, including racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Set to be sentenced on Nov. 19, Mr. Guo could face decades in prison or the remote possibility of extradition to China.
In a trial lasting almost two months, government prosecutors highlighted rambling videos Mr. Guo had made for his thousands of supporters, often guaranteeing no losses on their investments. The proceeds helped pay for a mansion in New Jersey, a Lamborghini roadster and a $100 million investment in a hedge fund. Prosecutors also drew on bank records, invoices and the testimony of Mr. Guo’s former employees and jilted investors, who had been drawn to a wealthy Beijing expatriate dedicated to ending the seven-decade rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
“Is Miles Guo a real political activist or not? I don’t know, I don’t care, and neither should you,” Juliana Murray, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the jury on Thursday. “He’s an opportunist. He’s a fraudster.”
The conviction is the end point of a remarkable trajectory for Mr. Guo, who made his original fortune in China building hotels and acquiring a brokerage company. Along the way, he allied himself with Ma Jian, a senior intelligence official in the country’s feared Ministry of State Security. Mr. Guo used his access to sensitive information to take down people who stood in his way, including a deputy mayor of Beijing who opposed his plans to build a massive office and hotel complex next to the site of the 2008 Olympic Games.
Mr. Guo’s time in China came to an abrupt end in 2015, after Mr. Ma was detained by the government. Mr. Guo fled to America and bought a $68 million Manhattan penthouse overlooking Central Park, winning the approval of the building’s co-op board with the help of a recommendation letter from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.