Call it the curse of the scam-bino.
A high-ranking executive at the sports channel owned by the Boston Red Sox has been charged with allegedly embezzling more than $500,000 by setting up a sham company with the same name as a real vendor in order to direct payments into his own pockets.
Ariel Legassa, 49, of Burlington, Conn., had been the vice president of digital media for NESN from 2019 until last month when company officials discovered the missing money, according to prosecutors.
A lawyer for Legassa didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
Launched in 1984, NESN is majority-owned by the Red Sox’s parent company with the rest controlled by the company that owns the Boston Celtics and Bruins. It broadcasts games for all three teams.
A spokeswoman for NESN said the court filings spoke for themselves and declined to comment further.
About a year after Legassa started working for NESN, prosecutors say he allegedly began steering payments to a Stamford, Conn.-based company called Alley CT, for web design and maintenance services he purported the firm was providing for the network.
In reality, NESN had a contract for similar services with a New York-based company called Alley NY, according to court documents. Legassa, who led a team of dozens of employees and oversaw all the network’s digital contracts, claimed the two companies were the same, prosecutors said.
Both companies were listed as Alley Interactive, LLC in…
