Overview

• Albert Saniger, the founder of Nate, has been indicted on securities and wire fraud charges, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
• The app, marketed as an AI-driven universal checkout solution, relied on hundreds of human workers in call centers in the Philippines and Romania to process transactions.
• The U.S. Department of Justice revealed that Nate’s actual automation rate was effectively zero, despite Saniger's claims of proprietary AI technology.
• Nate raised over $50 million from investors based on false representations, ultimately collapsing in January 2023 and leaving investors with near-total losses.
• Authorities emphasize that such deceptive practices undermine trust in technological innovation and divert funding from legitimate startups.