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That is “not just illogical, it defies common sense,” Ms. Shroff said.

In opening remarks at his trial in federal court in Manhattan, Sabrina Shroff, a lawyer for Mr. Guo, also argued he would not defraud the thousands of supporters who invested in his various ventures because doing so would undercut his effort to topple the Chinese Communist Party.

But defense attorney Sabrina Shroff said Guo was not guilty of any of the dozen charges lodged against him since his March 2023 arrest, a decade after he left China in 2014 during a crackdown on corruption that ensnared individuals close to him, including a topo intelligence official.

Shroff said her client had intentionally developed a following as he formed a movement to let the people of China know that there was an alternative to the Chinese Communist Party and had drawn the wrath of the Chinese government.

Shroff warned jurors not to be distracted by her client’s lifestyle.