Man sentenced for UN crypto scam backed by Nancy Pelosi’s son
A 50-year-old man has been sentenced this week after robbing investors of $600,000 via a crypto investment scam backed by the son of Nancy Pelosi and sponsored by a hoax United Nations partner.
Asa Saint Clair’s scheme involved selling IGObit, a crypto token that he claimed was sponsored by the World Sports Alliance (WSA), a supposed close affiliate of the United Nations. He told unwitting investors that profits were guaranteed.
The WSA claimed to be working with the United Nations to promote peace in developing countries through various sports initiatives. However, in 2014 it was reported that the organization was in fact attempting to extract diamonds and gold from Africa and had never launched anything sport-related.
Saint Clair was both the president and treasurer of the World Sports Alliance and through his IGObit crypto offering, he stole over $600,000 from over 60 victims between 2017 and 2019.
The money raised was actually used by Saint Clair to fund his own personal expenses, including dinners in New York, travel, and online shopping.
Attorneys said: “Asa Saint Clair deceived everyday investors by taking advantage of their desire to invest in a better world… Today’s sentence holds Saint Clair accountable for brazenly lying to investors while lining his own pockets,” (Via DOJ).
Pelosi Jr. endorsed United Nations scam
In January 2022, the Daily Mail released a report detailing how Nancy Pelosi’s son, Paul Pelosi Jr., was linked to the IGObit crypto scheme. Pelosi Jr. supposedly made endorsements on the IGObit website saying, “IGOBit is the absolute best offering I have ever seen.”
Read more: Utah businesses eyed by authorities over funds from alleged BitClub scam
A press release from 2017 details the WSA’s support for Pelosi Jr. and his executive role at Corporate Governance Initiative (CGI). In a separate press release on CGI, Saint Clair said, “Paul Pelosi Jr. is a long-time associate, both business and personal.”
In 2017, outlets claimed that Pelosi Jr. referred to “an endorsement from the WSA” when discussing youth soccer partnerships with the Ukrainian government in a video now set to private.
According to the Daily Mail, Pelosi Jr. hasn’t been charged or named in any documents within the Saint Clair case.
Saint Clair initially denied any wrongdoing and took the case to trial. In March 2020, after two weeks, a jury found him guilty.
He was convicted of wire fraud and sentenced to 42 months in prison and has also been ordered to pay a restitution sum of $613,417.
For more informed news, follow us on Twitter and Google News or listen to our investigative podcast Innovated: Blockchain City.