When Trump-loving youth group Turning Point USA hosted a four-day extravaganza last month featuring right-wing media’s leading lights, it did so with cash from two groups the feds say bilked millions from elderly Republicans and anti-communist émigrés from China.
Turning Point USA’s America Fest, held at the Phoenix Convention Center from Dec. 16 to Dec. 19, was a who’s who of conservative TV and internet personalities, interspersed with a smattering of failed candidates and elected officials: Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson, Kari Lake, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck, Mike Lindell, ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswamy, Dr. Ben Carson, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Trump lawyer Alina Habba all graced the stage. But a big chunk of the cash that produced the pre-holiday pow-wow came from two outfits that allegedly swindled the very voters and activists these figures purported to champion.
The event’s sole “Diamond Sponsor”—reflecting the highest level of support—was Fisher Capital, a precious metals dealer that regulators charged in April 2023 with tricking conservative senior citizens into liquidating their retirement accounts and using the cash to buy gold and silver coins at “grossly inflated prices,” with the enterprise falsely warning its victims that the Federal Reserve or Obama-era regulations would soon sever access to their savings. In the rank directly below Fisher Capital was the New Federal State of China, an organization co-founded by Bannon and indicted Chinese financier Guo Wengui.
Just weeks after America Fest wrapped, federal prosecutors identified this group, ostensibly a shadow government seeking to replace the current regime in Beijing, as part of Guo’s alleged criminal conspiracy to deceive his supporters in the Chinese dissident community into investing in a spurious cryptocurrency venture—one which the Justice Department claims in fact funded Guo’s lavish lifestyle.
Feds assert that Fisher Capital’s scam reaped $30 million, while a larger criminal operation in which the New Federal State of China allegedly took part pilfered upwards of $1 billion. Both Fisher Capital and Guo have disputed the charges.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, Turning Point sought to distance itself from its backers, noting that the most recent America Fest event had 150 sponsors. However, its representative did not dispute that no other supporter supplied as much cash as Fisher Capital, and only half a dozen others paid in at the level of the New Federal State of China.
“Turning Point USA does not run these companies, nor do we manage their businesses. These are companies that purchased space inside our events,” spokesman Andrew Kolvet told The Daily Beast, noting that the charges against both sponsors as yet remain only allegations. “We reserve the right to reassess existing relationships and any new information that comes to light will factor into whether or not they’ll be invited to participate in future opportunities.”
Turning Point USA declined to provide the dollar amount each group gave, but a 2021 sponsorship package guide on the organization’s website shows that a Diamond Sponsor must donate at least $250,000, while the next category of support starts with a minimum $100,000 gift. This level of backing not only won Fisher Capital and the New Federal State of China prominence in promotional materials—with the 2021 guide promising Diamond Supporters “ubiquitous event presence”—but granted both organizations multiple blocks of time in which their representatives directly addressed the crowd.
Kolvet asserted that his organization had a vetting process in place, but spoke of it only in broad terms, and did not supply details of the specific diligence Turning Point USA conducted on Fisher Capital and the New Federal State of China.
A simple Google search for “Fisher…
This article was originally published by a www.thedailybeast.com . Read the Original article here. .