A Property Baron Enrages Community by Selling 130,000 Acres of Land to a Chinese Billionaire

By: Carissa | Last updated: Nov 15, 2023

A property baron has landed himself in hot water after selling off a substantial plot of farmland to a Chinese billionaire. David Frankens made a handsome return on investment after selling 130,000 acres of land in East Texas.

The businessman was able to flip the land and managed to make twice what it was worth. While this kind of sale would often be something to celebrate, local residents are anything but pleased. It’s been revealed that Frankens sold the land to a wealthy Chinese investor who is said to be a “national security risk.”

Locals Are Fuming Over the Sale of the Land

The 130,000 acres of land was acquired by a former Chinese military captain named Sun Guangxin. Residents of Val Verde County disapprove of Frankens’ decision to sell the land to Sun, who reportedly paid an estimated $110 million sometime between 2016 and 2018 for the acreage.

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Source: Wikimedia Commons

For Frankens, it was the “deal of the century,” but to local ranchers, it was nothing short of a nightmare. A report from the CIA stating that Sun could potentially be dangerous has East Texans understandably concerned.

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Frankens Sold the Land at an Exponential Cost to Sun

The CIA report suggests that Sun may have “extensive” links to the Chinese Communist Party. Land deeds show that Frankens bought the plots of land and then immediately sold them to a group called GH America, which is an offshoot of the Chinese Billionaire’s company, Guanghui Group.

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Source: LinkedIn

Interestingly enough, Frankens sold the 130,000 acres to Sun the same day he acquired them. The land deeds created further confusion and suspicion, as it became quite evident that Frankens and Sun were working together.

The Land Deeds Told an Interesting Story

Questions began to mount as people discovered the contents of the land deeds between the two wealthy moguls.

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Source: Wikimedia Commons

The documents revealed that Frankens once bought a plot of land at 11 a.m., only to sell it to GH America in under three hours. By 2 p.m. that same day, Sun Guangxin was listed as the owner of the property. Something was definitely amiss, and things only became more problematic once the CIA got involved.

Locals Are Beyond Furious

Ranchers and business owners in the Val Verde County area are furious at the underhanded business dealings between the two men. Kyle Bass, who owns a ranch in Val Verde, has labeled the transactions between Frankens and Sun “treacherous.” 

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Source: Wikimedia Commons

James King, a realtor in Val Verde County, suggested that Frankens had “taken advantage” of Sun’s “naivety.” He claimed that the Chinese billionaire was swindled by Frankens and that he paid far too much for the plots of land. “Its buyer beware,” he said. “That’s how Texas real estate is.”

Landowners in the Area Are Appalled at Frankens

Residents of Val Verde Country were puzzled and aggravated at how Frankens gave away so much land to someone like Sun.

Source: Facebook

According to James King, local Texans are passionate about their land and the history that comes along with it, so selling more than 130,000 of it to a foreign billionaire was a big offense. “It’s, you know, ‘how dare you bring this man into our neighborhood of really solid landowners who care about the land and where some families have spent six generations out here’,” said King.

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The Property Baron Frequently Flaunted His Wealth on Social Media

David Frankens was making multi-million dollar business deals with the sale of various properties throughout Texas. Buying land at a low rate, flipping the property, and then selling it at a higher cost to Sun was how he earned an income.

Source: Facebook

As of now, it remains unclear if Frankens and Sun were doing anything illegal, but the wealthy property baron had no problem flaunting his fortune on social media. In a Facebook post from 2015, Frankens posted an aerial photo of a sprawling estate in Texas along with the caption, “This is my second home away from home. I built and developed and sold several but still live in the region.”

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Frankens’ Business Ethics Are in Question

King further suggested that while the business dealings between Frankens and Sun were shady, he also suspects some financial crimes were happening that likely flew under the radar – until now.

Source: Facebook

King believes that Frankens took profits from his initial deals with GH America to purchase more land. According to King, Frankens likely sold that land to GH America at an inflated price as well. On top of that, King is certain that Frankens was “hiding” his earnings. “I wouldn’t say it’s a very honorable way to make a living because it’s sneaky. But people do it,” he said.

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A Book Details Sun’s Involvement With the Chinese Communist Party

The book Eurasian Crossings: A History of Xinjiang by James Millward goes into detail about Sun’s apparent ties to the Chinese Communist Party. In the book, it’s suggested that Sun opened a branch of the Chinese Communist Party under his own company in the 1990s.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Sun’s political connections are the driving force of his success, and it has helped him purchase “state-owned enterprises.” In fact, Sun owned seven percent of the land in Val Verde County between 2016 and 2018. While Sun’s business acumen and political standing helped his advancement, it also was also what got him noticed as a national security threat.

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Frankens Is Being Sued By a Former Employee

Things aren’t looking much better for Frankens, who is currently being sued by a former ranch worker. In the lawsuit, Eric White alleges that Frankens and two other colleagues cornered him in his office and physically assaulted him.

Source: Facebook

The alleged event, which is said to have taken place in September 2021, was traumatizing to the rancher. The suit claims that he was “beaten about the head with fists causing serious bodily injury.”

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The Governor Intervened When Sun Tried to Access State Infrastructure

Sun once had plans to construct a “46-turbine wind farm” on a 15,000-acre plot of land that he purchased from Frankens in 2018. Some people vehemently objected to Sun’s proposed plans, saying that the project would give Sun and his Chinese allies “access to the state electrical grid.” 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The situation resulted in Texas Governor Greg Abbott getting involved. He passed the Lone Star Infrastructure Act in 2021, banning all ‘hostile nations’ from gaining access to state infrastructure.

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Frankens Claims He Didn’t Even Know Sun

As expected, David Frankens has claimed he’s an innocent bystander in all of the drama surrounding Sun and the 130,000 acres of land. But Frankens went a step further by asserting that he never even knew who Sun was until after the business transactions took place.

Source: Alchetron

He claims that he “sold the property via a broker and did not know who the buyer was.” At the same time, Frankens also defended Sun, saying, “In my dealings with [Sun Guangxin], he has always done exactly what he said he would do and has shown himself to be a generous, hospitable man.”

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