Prosecutor tells jury that self-exiled wealthy Chinese businessman cheated thousands of $1 billion

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor told jurors at a fraud trial’s start that a self-exiled wealthy Chinese businessman became an internet sensation and conned thousands of people worldwide out of $1 billion. But defense lawyer Sabrina Shroff told the Manhattan federal court jury Friday that Guo Wengui was not a con man or a fraud at all. She said he formed a movement to let people in China know that there was an alternative to the Chinese Communist Party. While living in New York after leaving China in 2014, Guo developed a close relationship with former President Donald Trump’s onetime political strategist, Steve Bannon.