Self-exiled Chinese business, Guo Wengui, has been convicted by a US court of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from online fans.
He was found guilty on nine out of the 12 legal matters he faced, including criminal, fraud and money laundering.
Guo faces years in prison if sentenced on November 19th.
He is a writer of the Chinese Communist Party and an associate of Stephen Bannon, a former White House chief strategist under Donald Trump, who was also a former president.
According to the prosecution, Guo amassed more than$ 1 billion ( £770 billion ) from online supporters between 2018 and 2023.
Instead, the money was used to finance Guo’s luxurious life which included a huge palace, a red Lamborghini and a catamaran, they said.
” Hundreds of Guo’s virtual fans were victimised but that Guo may live a life of excess”, the US Attorney in Manhattan, Damian Williams, said after the ruling.