In Depth: Fugitive Couple Reemerges at the Helm of Volatile Nasdaq Firm

Yueda Digital Holding, a little-known Nasdaq-listed small-cap company previously known as AirNet Technology, became the center of an extraordinary financial drama in early 2025. The company abruptly abandoned its legacy airport and in-flight advertising business to focus on cryptocurrency, spurring wild swings in its stock price that left investors confused and anxious. This dramatic transformation coincided with a managerial shakeup, including the appointment of Guo Baozhen as interim CEO in October 2025, and signaled a significant shift in corporate strategy that quickly drew public and regulatory attention [para. 1].

At the heart of Yueda Digital’s pivot are Guo Baozhen and her husband, Tian Chunming, both controversial figures in China. Guo joined the company’s board in March 2025 and was later promoted to interim CEO in October. The couple’s notorious history dates back over a decade: they fled China in late 2012 after their financial firm, Minxin Small Loan, collapsed amid allegations of extensive loan fraud. Investigators discovered two truckloads of forged records; Tian remains on China’s wanted list, and Guo is officially discredited in China’s financial system [para. 2][para. 3].

The company’s pivot to cryptocurrency came after years of low-profile operations. For much of its existence, Yueda traded below $1 with a market cap of only $20 million, reporting a net loss of $13.65 million against $400,000 in revenue for 2024. After Guo’s arrival, Yueda announced entry into the crypto mining sector in Kazakhstan, sparking a temporary price rally to $5.55. The company also changed its name and ticker symbol in September 2025 [para. 4][para. 5].

One day after Guo’s appointment as interim CEO, Yueda issued a public offering of units at $1 per unit, each containing one share and one warrant with a “zero-exercise-price”—allowing holders free additional shares. The issuing of these new shares diluted existing holdings dramatically, causing the stock to plummet from $0.191 to $0.05 in a single day, with trading volumes surging to 860 times their previous average. Analysts suspect the company is setting up for a reverse merger and reshuffling its shareholder base, a pattern sometimes used to clear out old investors in favor of insiders [para. 6][para. 7][para. 8].

Yueda’s regulatory filings further deepened the intrigue, revealing the appointment of Tian Chunhua—Guo’s brother-in-law—but failed to disclose family connections, potentially violating SEC regulations [para. 9].

The couple’s earlier career reveals a pattern of deception. Their Minxin Small Loan company, set up in 2010, claimed assets of 160 million yuan ($22.5 million) but reportedly relied on forged client lists and financial records to secure bank loans. Upon their 2012 flight from China, authorities found piles of counterfeit documents. Minxin defaulted on a 30 million yuan ($4.7 million) bank loan, with the guarantor repaying over 30.7 million yuan—ultimately unrecoverable, as the couple vanished and most assets were hidden or mortgaged [para. 10][para. 11][para. 12][para. 13][para. 14].

After fleeing China, the couple settled in Cyprus, benefiting from its investment-based “golden visa” scheme. Guo rebuilt her image, earning a master’s degree and launching DMG Real Estate. She presented herself as an international property developer and participated in prominent public events, including charity galas, while sponsoring Chinese-Cypriot initiatives [para. 15][para. 16][para. 17].

Guo later established a company in the UK, holding Cypriot nationality and a UK address, while Tian assumed the alias “Brook Sun” and acquired a Vanuatu passport, even contesting a UK residency denial in 2024. The couple is currently believed to reside in London [para. 18][para. 19][para. 20].