CoinDesk
A US judge sentenced Chinese businessman Miles Guo, the figure behind the fraudulent crypto venture Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), to 30 years in prison, closing out the 2024 racketeering conviction against him. The sentence lands on top of roughly $900 million in proceeds already ordered forfeited, plus his New Jersey mansion and a fleet of luxury vehicles including a Rolls Royce Phantom and a Bugatti.
Guo, 55, who also goes by Ho Wan Kwok and several other aliases, is a self-imposed exile from China who rose to prominence through GTV Media Group and a close public relationship with Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former strategist. Bannon's own legal history runs through the same orbit: he was arrested aboard a 150-foot yacht owned by Guo in 2020, federally charged in a fraudulent fundraising case that Trump pardoned in 2021, then pursued at the state level and pleaded guilty in 2025 while avoiding prison.
Why it matters
Authorities cast the crypto token as one spoke of a larger apparatus. H-Coin was marketed to buyers as being 20% gold-backed and as covering 100% of investor losses, framing prosecutors later characterised as misleading. Deputy US Attorney Sean Buckley said Guo "led a massive scheme to steal more than $1 billion through lies and deception from thousands of Americans and victims around the world," placing the case among the largest individual crypto fraud losses in a US docket to wrap with a prison term rather than a financial settlement.
The racketeering count rather than a simple wire-fraud charge is the legally relevant choice here. It signals that US prosecutors are willing to treat layered crypto-native fundraising that crosses fraud, laundering, and marketing lines under RICO-style statutes, a posture that tends to push plea leverage higher for defendants in similar downstream cases.
Market impact
The forfeiture order, the mansion, and the named vehicles translate a headline prison figure into concrete asset recovery. For the broader market the read is informational rather than price-moving: H-Coin was never a listed asset with liquid order books, and the conviction was already priced into the legal record before sentencing.
Frequently asked questions
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Who is Miles Guo and what was H-Coin?
Miles Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, is a Chinese exile who built GTV Media Group. H-Coin, or Himalaya Coin, was a crypto token he marketed as 20% gold-backed and as covering 100% of investor losses.
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How long was Miles Guo sentenced to and on what charges?
Guo was sentenced to 30 years in prison after a 2024 jury conviction on counts including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering tied to a multi-year fraud scheme that prosecutors valued at more than $1 billion.
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How does Steve Bannon figure into the case?
Bannon was closely tied to Guo and was arrested in 2020 aboard a 150-foot yacht owned by Guo on federal fundraising charges. Trump pardoned the federal case in 2021, and Bannon later pleaded guilty at the state level in 2025 while avoiding prison.
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What was forfeited as part of Guo's sentence?
A judge ordered Guo to give up roughly $900 million in proceeds, his New Jersey mansion, and several luxury vehicles, including a Rolls Royce Phantom and a Bugatti.
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Why does the racketeering count matter for other crypto cases?
Prosecutors used a racketeering statute rather than a plain wire-fraud charge, signalling willingness to treat layered crypto-native fundraising that crosses fraud, laundering, and marketing lines under RICO-style statutes, which raises plea leverage for defendants in similar future cases.
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