Haojia Miao, aka Haljia Miao and Stan Miao, is part of Kristijan Krstic’s Ponzi empire.

Miao, a Californian resident, was arrested by the FBI October 7th.

Although he was arrested prior to John DeMarr, Miao (right) is the second of Krstic’s accomplices known to be arrested in the US.

As per Miao’s Californian case docket, bail was originally set at $250,000 on October 9th. It was reduced to $150,000 on October 15th.

Miao posted bail via cash on October 16th.

Miao’s bond conditions saw him surrender his passport and travel documents. Miao was to remain in his residence, with travel only permitted to the Northern District of Texas to appear in court.

On October 9th Miao’s Californian case was terminated and transferred to Texas.

In Texas Miao, along with sixteen other named defendants, have been indicted for their roles in Kristijan Krstic’s $70 million+ Ponzi empire.

I’ll publish details of the indictment in a separate article, linked below as an update when it’s done.

Getting back to Miao’s criminal case, on October 26th an ambitious January 4th trial date was scheduled.

On November 13th Miao filed a motion requesting continuance of the trial and its designation as a complex case.

On December 2nd the court issued an order on Miao’s motion, granting the request for complex case status.

The Court agrees with the defendant and finds that the case is so complex due to the nature of the prosecution and the complexity of the facts underlying the indictment, the number of defendants, most of which have been arrested in a foreign country and are awaiting extradition, and the voluminous nature of the discovery that it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for the trial itself within the time limits established by the Speedy Trial Act.

Accordingly, the Court designates this case as complex.

Miao had requested a continuance of one year, which the court denied. As a compromise, the court granted Miao a six-month continuance.

A new trial date has been scheduled for July 12th.

 

Update 19th December 2021 – Haojia Miao has pled guilty to one count of wire fraud.