Alice Guo is either a real person or an alias, Depending on who you ask.
She is either a mayor or a spy, a Filipino or Chinese national.
Her story has gripped the Philippines for years and spanned multiple countries.
Now, Alice Guo has been sentenced to life in prison for trafficking hundreds of people.
Here's what we know about the case and the woman at the centre of it.
Who is Alice Guo?
Alice Guo was elected mayor of Bamban town in Tarlac province, north of the Philippine capital, Manila, in 2022.
Residents of the town told the BBC she was an empathetic and caring leader.
But she quickly came to the attention of MPs.
Some suspected that she was in fact a Chinese national, who had changed her name to run for office.
Some senators even suggested that she may have been working as a Chinese spy.
The town of Bamban is located several kilometres from a Philippine air force base that American forces have used since 2014.
[MAP]Others suspected she was behind an online scam operation being run near Bamban's town hall, which was catering mainly to clients from China, where gambling is illegal.
Guo denied all wrongdoing and has not been charged with espionage.
What happened next?
Last year, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered a ban on hundreds of mostly Chinese-run online gaming operations, which proliferated under the administration of previous President Rodrigo Duterte.
Mr Marcos accused the gaming operations of crimes including financial scams, human trafficking, torture, kidnapping and murder.
The Philippine Senate launched an investigation and ordered Guo to appear before members and answer questions about her alleged involvement in the centre at Bamban.
When she did not show, they issued a warrant for her arrest.
MPs had found that her fingerprints matched those of a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping.
The Office of the Ombudsman, which has powers to investigate corruption, then ordered her dismissal from the mayoralty, citing grave misconduct.
What did investigators find?
After a worker escaped and called police, the complex at the centre of the allegations was raided by authorities in March 2024.
More than 700 people from countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and Rwanda were found at the site.
The site, which comprised 36 buildings, included luxury villas and a large swimming pool.
Documents seized also allegedly showed that Guo was the president of the company that owned the compound.
Shortly after the raid, Guo fled the Philippines and was tracked in Malaysia and Singapore before being arrested in Indonesia in September.
What did the courts decide?
In June, a Manila court ruled that the 35-year-old was "undisputedly a Chinese citizen" and was never eligible to run for office in the Philippines.
On Thursday, local time, she was convicted on human trafficking charges for helping establish the illegal online gambling complex in Bamban.
"They used the parcels of land and buildings to house the trafficked workers and to force them to work as scammers," the court said in its decision.
The Pasig city regional trial court in metropolitan Manila sentenced Alice Guo to life in prison along with seven other Filipino and Chinese co-accused.
They have been ordered to pay a fine of 2 million pesos ($52,100) each and compensate several trafficking victims, who filed the complaints.
Guo denied all allegations against her and says she is a Filipino citizen. It is not clear if she will appeal the decision.
What has the reaction been?
The case has made regular headlines in the Philippines but China has not commented about the allegations against her.
Philippine senator Risa Hontiveros celebrated the convictions.
"The conviction of Alice Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, is a victory against corruption, human trafficking, cybercrime and many other transnational crimes," Senator Hontiveros said.
"But it is far from over."
Senator Hontiveros led the Senate inquiry that exposed underground online scam operations in the Philippines, along with Guo's alleged criminal involvement.
"We will continue to demand accountability from every government agency that failed in their duties, and we will continue to investigate the full extent of Chinese intelligence operations in our country," she said.
"And to all others who enabled Alice Guo's criminal empire: the Philippines is not a playground for exploitation, infiltration and espionage."
Guo faces five ongoing cases, including allegations of money laundering.
ABC/wires
