Epoch Crimes
“The moral standard of mankind is going downward; public morals are declining day by day; people are bent on nothing but profit; they try to hurt others for their own personal interests; they try to overtake each other for personal gain by fair means or foul. – Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong founder
Trafficking in election lies, climate denialism, pandemic disinformation, conspiracy theories and dipstick clickbait may not be such a profitable media model after all.
The chief financial officer of The Epoch Times allegedly boosted revenues by purchasing prepaid debit cards loaded with millions of dollars in stolen funds, according to an indictment unsealed on Monday.
Pick a card. Any card. What were the publication’s bankers – who are required to report suspicious activity – supposed to think?
If the allegations prove true, this is almost as stupid as the Florida couple who allegedly tried to collect a $1 million lottery prize by splicing scratch tickets together.
For everything else, there’s Mastercard
Weidong “Bill” Guan, 61, has pleaded not guilty. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years on a charge of conspiracy to commit money-laundering and 30 years each on two bank fraud charges.
The Epoch Times was not specifically named in the indictment, but it was referred to as “a multinational media company headquartered in Manhattan, New York.”
The indictment, however, does allege that the “sprawling, transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds” benefited the company as well as Guan.
“The Epoch Times has a guiding principle that elevates integrity in its dealings above everything else,” the company said in a written response. “The company intends to and will fully cooperate with any investigation dealing with the allegations against Mr. Guan. In the interim, although Mr. Guan is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the company has suspended him until this matter is resolved.”
Innocent until proven guilty is the American way, but I can’t wait to hear the explanations.
According to the Justice Department complaint, Guan told bankers the publication got “more and more donations from our supporters because more and more people like our media.”
I’ve never been employed at a publication where readers expressed their opinion of our work by sending us prepaid Visa and Mastercards.
Stolen identities and unemployment benefits alleged
Among Guan’s duties at The Epoch Times was managing its “Make Money Online Team.”
The team allegedly used cryptocurrency to buy sketchy prepaid debit cards over the Internet. Prosecutors say the cards were loaded with stolen money, including fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits.
The cards were then deposited in both personal and company accounts with Guan falsely claiming that the money came from company profits, subscriptions or donations, prosecutors alleged. (No other Epoch Times employees were named in the indictment, and the publication has not been charged.)
The scheme also involved financial accounts opened with stolen identification information, the indictment says.
The money helped boost The Epoch Times’ revenue by 410%, from about $15 million to approximately $62 million, according to the indictment.
Judging all mankind
The Epoch Times’ banner promises “Truth, Tradition, Hope.” It was founded by members of Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual movement that opposes communism and easily gained sympathies in the U.S. after suffering banishment and oppression from the Chinese government.
Falun Gong teachings contain scraps of Buddhism and Taoism and emphasize meditative practices. Adherents have claimed that their founder, Li Hongzhi, can levitate, walk through walls and see the future. He is a permanent U.S. resident and lives on a 427-acre compound in New York state with hundreds of followers.
“The moral standard of mankind is going downward,” Hongzhi claims.
And with it, I would add, all standards of journalism.
Around 2016, the Epoch Times shifted its emphasis from opposing Chinese communism to supporting former president Donald Trump and far-right causes. It has platformed QAnon conspiracy theories, and even the outrageous Pizzagate claim that prominent Democrats were running a child trafficking ring out of a Washington D.C. pizza joint.
The publication sports the look and feel of a legitimate news organization and often provides actual journalism, but it has also offered the standard fare of unsubstantiated claims, from election lies to chem-trail hysteria. Facebook banned The Epoch Times in 2019 where the publication spent millions of dollars spreading nonsense through a vast network of accounts.
Former staff members have said The Epoch Times is largely staffed by Falun Gong devotees with little or no journalism experience. They fight propaganda by creating their own propaganda, and in opposing Chinese communism they appear to be embracing American fascism.
So much for truth and tradition, but perhaps The Epoch Times should hang on to hope. Because if the Justice Department wins its case against Guan, it’s going for claw backs.
The publication might have to return tens of millions of dollars in allegedly ill-gotten gains (prepaid cards not accepted).
It would amount to Epoch Fines.
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