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Miles Guo Gets 30 Years for $1B Himalaya Coin Crypto Fraud
Chinese exile Miles Guo was sentenced to 30 years for defrauding investors of over $1 billion through Himalaya Coin. The court ordered $900 million forfeiture.
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A U.S. federal judge sentenced Chinese businessman Miles Guo to 30 years in prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency fraud that took more than $1 billion from investors. Guo, 55, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, was convicted in 2024 on charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering.
Prosecutors said Guo ran a network of scams over five years, targeting thousands of victims in the United States and abroad. The most prominent scheme was Himalaya Coin, or H-Coin, a digital token he launched in 2021. Guo claimed the coin was backed 20% by gold and promised investors full reimbursement for any losses. Those assurances helped pull in roughly $500 million, according to U.S. authorities. The token had no legitimate financial backing.
Deputy U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley said Guo exploited the trust of thousands of victims after arriving in the United States, using deception and false promises to enrich himself instead of pursuing legitimate business opportunities.