A penchant for pigging out foiled this fake Saudi Prince’s schemes. Miami fraudster Anthony Gignac was sentenced Friday by a Florida judge to 18.5 years in prison for swindling $8 million from people by posing as Middle Eastern royalty, according to reports. Gignac—who went by the moniker Prince Khalid al-Saud of Saudi Arabia for more than three decades — chronicled his phony life of luxury on Instagram under the handle @princedubai_07. see also Man admits he impersonated member of Saudi royal family MIAMI — A Florida man has pleaded guilty to impersonating... Photos show the grifter in a Ferrari, wearing Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags, dining on lavish meals and taking luxury vacations. The 48-year-old lived on Miami’s star-studded Fisher Island, where his penthouse apartment door was labeled “Sultan.” He hired bodyguards who carried fake badges and his car bore fake diplomatic plates. He referred to himself as “prince,” “sultan” and “his royal highness” and demanded pricey gifts from his business partners—per royal protocol. But in reality, Gignac was a Colombian orphan born Anthony Moreno and adopted by a family in Michigan. The real Prince Khalid is the 79-year-old governor of Mecca. Despite Gignac’s elaborate efforts to maintain his image, he forgot a well-known Muslim rule any respectable Saudi prince would honor: pork is off limits. So when wealthy real estate developer Jeffrey Soffer caught him eating bacon and other pork products, Soffer hired private investigators to look into the alleged prince, ultimately leading to an FBI probe, the Miami Herald reported. Images from Anthony Gignac's Instagram using the username @princedubai_07. Instagram Instagram Instagram Ad Up Next Close Aggressive ticket vendors force bus service to skip stops Aggressive ticket vendors who have long duped tourists for Statue... 3 View Slideshow Back Continue Advertisement June 1, 2019 Gignac was pretending to have $600 million in a bank account that he wanted to invest in Soffer’s famed Fontainebleau hotel on Miami Beach Soffer initially fell for the ploy, gifting the crooked “sheikh” $50,000 in luxury items, according to unnamed sources cited by the Miami Herald. He was among 26 victims across the globe from whom Gignac stole millions of dollars, prosecutors charged. Gignace was arrested 11 times for “prince-related schemes” prior to the latest case, prosecutors said Friday. In a 1991 article, the Los Angeles Times called him the “Prince of Fraud” after he was arrested for flaking on $10,000 in bills from a limousine company and from the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. In his latest scheme, US District Judge Cecilia Altonaga imposed a fairly heavy sentence, calling his crimes “truly remarkable.” A public defender representing Gignac said his life of crime was the result of a difficult childhood in Colombia. “The entire blame of this entire operation is on me, and I accept that,” Gignac said at his sentencing, in
Fake Saudi prince who flaunted on Instagram sentenced in fraud scheme
A penchant for pigging out foiled this fake Saudi Prince’s schemes. Miami fraudster Anthony Gignac was sentenced Friday by a Florida judge to 18.5 years in prison for swindling $8 million from people by posing as Middle Eastern royalty, according to reports. Gignac—who went by the moniker Prince Khalid al-Saud of Saudi Arabia for more than three decades — chronicled his phony life of luxury on Instagram under the handle @princedubai_07. see also Man admits he impersonated member of Saudi royal family MIAMI — A Florida man has pleaded guilty to impersonating... Photos show the grifter in a Ferrari, wearing Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags, dining on lavish meals and taking luxury vacations. The 48-year-old lived on Miami’s star-studded Fisher Island, where his penthouse apartment door was labeled “Sultan.” He hired bodyguards who carried fake badges and his car bore fake diplomatic plates. He referred to himself as “prince,” “sultan” and “his royal highness” and demanded pricey gifts from his business partners—per royal protocol. But in reality, Gignac was a Colombian orphan born Anthony Moreno and adopted by a family in Michigan. The real Prince Khalid is the 79-year-old governor of Mecca. Despite Gignac’s elaborate efforts to maintain his image, he forgot a well-known Muslim rule any respectable Saudi prince would honor: pork is off limits. So when wealthy real estate developer Jeffrey Soffer caught him eating bacon and other pork products, Soffer hired private investigators to look into the alleged prince, ultimately leading to an FBI probe, the Miami Herald reported. Images from Anthony Gignac's Instagram using the username @princedubai_07. Instagram Instagram Instagram Ad Up Next Close Aggressive ticket vendors force bus service to skip stops Aggressive ticket vendors who have long duped tourists for Statue... 3 View Slideshow Back Continue Advertisement June 1, 2019 Gignac was pretending to have $600 million in a bank account that he wanted to invest in Soffer’s famed Fontainebleau hotel on Miami Beach Soffer initially fell for the ploy, gifting the crooked “sheikh” $50,000 in luxury items, according to unnamed sources cited by the Miami Herald. He was among 26 victims across the globe from whom Gignac stole millions of dollars, prosecutors charged. Gignace was arrested 11 times for “prince-related schemes” prior to the latest case, prosecutors said Friday. In a 1991 article, the Los Angeles Times called him the “Prince of Fraud” after he was arrested for flaking on $10,000 in bills from a limousine company and from the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. In his latest scheme, US District Judge Cecilia Altonaga imposed a fairly heavy sentence, calling his crimes “truly remarkable.” A public defender representing Gignac said his life of crime was the result of a difficult childhood in Colombia. “The entire blame of this entire operation is on me, and I accept that,” Gignac said at his sentencing, in
0 Comments