President of sham UN affiliate pleads not guilty in cryptocurrency fraud case
Asa Saint Clair, a purported president of World Sports Alliance, has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud.
Less than two weeks after the US authorities announced the launch of criminal proceedings against against Asa Saint Clair, a purported president of World Sports Alliance, a sham affiliate of the United Nations, the defendant has submitted his plea at the New York Southern District Court.
The defendant has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud charges in connection to a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.
Further, Magistrate Judge Wang has agreed to amendments to the bond conditions for Saint Clair.
The current bond, set by Magistrate Judge Wang, is $500,000 to be secured by two financially responsible people. The Government would like a condition added whereby one of signers also agrees to allow for the forfeiture o f his home should Saint Clair violate the terms of his release.
On November 13, 2019, the Judge ordered that the bail conditions are modified to include that defendant’s father-in-law posting his home as additional security by November 22, 2019. The defendant may be released upon satisfaction of all conditions set by Magistrate Judge Wang.
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.
According to the allegations in the Indictment and the 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 maximum penalty for the wire fraud charge is 20 years in prison.
