A businessman who was one of many early buyers in a failed skilled soccer league known as the Alliance of American Soccer pleaded responsible Monday to costs accusing him in a $600 million cryptocurrency scheme.
Reginald Fowler was charged with financial institution fraud, wire fraud and different offenses that prosecutors say contributed to the AAF’s fast demise in 2019.
The responsible plea in Manhattan federal court docket comes at a time when different fledgling leagues are making longshot bids to loosen the Nationwide Soccer League’s grip on professional soccer. In 2019, the AAF shut down after eight weeks when it ran out of cash.
Fowler, 63, of Chandler, Arizona, was as soon as identified for attempting to purchase the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings in 2005. He ended up as a minority proprietor earlier than his involvement within the staff resulted in 2014.
In a press release, U.S. Lawyer Damian Williams mentioned that as a part of the crypto scheme, Fowler “helped course of a whole lot of thousands and thousands of dollars of unregulated transactions on behalf of quite a few cryptocurrency exchanges, skirting the anti-money laundering safeguards required of licensed establishments that make sure the U.S. monetary system isn't used for felony functions.”
Prosecutors additionally alleged that Fowler lied to AAF executives by claiming he managed financial institution accounts with tens of thousands and thousands of dollars from actual property investments and authorities contracts that he may use to spend money on the league.
“Having accepted full duty in an open plea right this moment, Reggie may have the chance to be heard at sentencing as to his understanding of the circumstances of the offenses and pivotal points akin to the right quantity of financial loss attributable to Reggie,” protection lawyer Edward Sapone mentioned in a press release.
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