Fraud Trial to Begin for Chinese Billionaire Who Allied Himself With America’s Right

Four years ago, Guo Wengui, a prominent Chinese property developer, announced the imminent end of Communist rule and the formation of the New Federal State of China.

The setting wasn’t Beijing, or anywhere close to China, but a boat in New York Harbor. He was joined by Steve Bannon, the right-wing firebrand and former adviser to President Trump. Another Trump aide, Peter Navarro, would be declared the shadow government’s “international ambassador.”

“From this day forward, the Communist Party is not the legal government of China!” he shouted in Mandarin.

Mr. Guo, also known as Miles Kwok, had completed a remarkable transformation, from exiled Beijing billionaire to a player in America’s right-wing firmament.

But a lot has gone wrong since then. Accused of defrauding thousands of people in the United States and abroad of more than $1 billion, he is set to go on trial on Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan.