Lebanese man who claimed to be Dubai prince to scam San Antonio business owners gets prison

A Lebanese man who claimed to be a prince from Dubai, then took money from would-be investors to support his lavish lifestyle was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

He was sentenced in a federal court in San Antonio for wire fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release Thursday.

Court documents state that Alex Georges Tannous, 39, of Ain-Akrine, Lebanon, told his victims he was a prince from Dubai interested in getting U.S.-based businesses to market in Dubai.

He told them millions of dollars were available to help but said they needed to make an initial payment to start the flow of funding. Once he got the money, he used it to live well and support several family members, authorities said. In all, officials said, he stole approximately $2.5 million through the scheme.

"Tannous convinced his victims that he was offering legitimate business opportunities, when in reality, he was simply lining his own pockets," said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp for the FBI's San Antonio field office. "Many of his victims were small business owners trying to live the American dream, but instead they were pulled into a financial nightmare. Cases like this are a priority for the FBI."

He said people who think they have been a victim of a financial scam should report it at .

Tannous was arrested Feb. 9 and indicted on six counts of wire fraud, then pleaded guilty to one count on July 25. In addition to his prison sentence, he also was ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution.

"Alex Tannous was a serial con-artist who betrayed dozens of hardworking Americans in San Antonio and elsewhere, capitalizing on the trust he'd developed with them over years," U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Jaime Esparza said. "Fraudsters who see this nation and its citizens as targets for their illicit schemes should know that we will stop at nothing to find, prosecute and imprison you — and in the process, ensure you pay back your victims every bit of what you stole."

The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons prosecuted.