A Lebanese man who posed as an Emirati prince was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison by a US federal court in San Antonio for wire fraud. Alex Tannous, 39, who falsely claimed to be a high-profile businessman and diplomat from the UAE with close ties to Emirati royalty, has been exposed as a con artist who tricked victims worldwide out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to court documents, Tannous’ schemes involved promises of lucrative investment returns, claiming his victims needed to pay an initial sum to release millions supposedly available for ventures. Instead, the funds he received went to support his own lavish lifestyle and that of his family. Investigations by Khaleej Times earlier revealed that Tannous’s fraudulent activities extended far beyond the United States, impacting victims across the globe. One of these victims, Marc De Spiegelerie from Belgium, messaged Khaleej Times shortly after leaving the courtroom, expressing relief at the sentence. “He got 20 years in federal prison here in the States,” De Spiegelerie wrote, adding that Tannous would serve three years of supervised custody and be required to complete over 2,000 hours of community service, with orders to pay restitution to US victims. “It may not bring back […]