Chinese real estate tycoon NY accused by the US authorities of organizing a billion dollar fraud. it’s about him Gu Wengui and one of his accomplices, Qin Ming Ze, who are accused of fraud through money transfers, stock exchange fraud, bank fraud and rinsing dirty money.

Characteristic is the fact that Vengi, who left China in 2014, apparently one of the richest men in the country, he is a critic of the Chinese government and an associate of former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon. In an online post, the mogul said he was handcuffed and interrogated for more than an hour, later pleading not guilty in Manhattan federal court and ordered to be held without bail, the BBC reported.

According to the indictment, the two men raised $1 billion from thousands of online subscribers who thought they were funding a media business and an exclusive members’ club. They also allegedly used a cryptocurrency called Himalaya Coin to steal millions from investors.

Wengui’s opposition to the Chinese Communist Party and his connections to high-profile U.S. right-wing politicians and activists have generated hundreds of thousands of online followers, most of them Chinese living in Western countries. Prosecutors allege that instead of investing in the business, they were allegedly directed to personal accounts linked to the tycoon and his partner. Among other things, the money was spent on a mansion with an area of ​​4,345 sq.m. in New Jersey, the most luxurious sports cars Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ferrari, as well as almost $1 million worth of Chinese and Persian carpets.

Prosecutors say $100 million was invested in a high-risk hedge fund, while other money was spent on luxury items, including a $140,000 piano, a $62,000 TV and a $53,000 mantelpiece. Since September last year, the US government has confiscated about $634 million in revenue from 21 bank accounts.