President of sham UN affiliate faces wire fraud charges over cryptocurrency scheme
Asa Saint Clair allegedly participated in a scheme to defraud victims into providing loans tied to the launch of offering of digital coins called IGOBIT by World Sports Alliance.
US authorities today announce wire fraud charges against Asa Saint Clair, a purported president of World Sports Alliance, a sham affiliate of the United Nationa.
Saint Clair allegedly participated in a scheme to defraud victims into providing loans tied to the launch of digital currency IGOBIT by World Sports Alliance, an organization that claimed to be focused on promoting international development through sports, and falsely promised investors guaranteed returns and an ownership interest in IGOBIT.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Saint Clair allegedly defrauded investors in IGOBIT, a digital currency he claimed WSA was developing, but which turned out to be the fraudulent bait with which to lure victim investors.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed late on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court and the previously filed Complaint, from 2017 through September 2019, Saint Clair solicited investors for the launch of IGOBIT through promised investment returns and representations about World Sports Alliance’s development projects around the world.
In reality, World Sports Alliance did not participate in any international development projects and Saint Clair did not dedicate investor funds to IGOBIT. Instead, Saint Clair diverted those funds to other entities controlled by him and members of his family, as well as to pay his personal expenses, including dinners at Manhattan restaurants, airline tickets, and online shopping.
The defendant is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel.
