A man who posed as a Saudi Prince to swindle $8 million from wealthy investors has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for fraud.
Colombia-born Anthony Gignac, 48, posed as a Saudi royal under a fake persona—Prince Sultan Bin Khalid Al-Saud—for three decades.
Gignac, a U.S. citizen, was adopted at the age of seven by a family in Michigan.
By the time he was 17, Gignac had already assumed the identity of a Saudi royal, using false documents to scam wealthy investors, credit card companies, and shop staff to fuel his luxurious lifestyle.
“Over the course of the last three decades, Anthony Gignac has portrayed himself as a Saudi prince in order to manipulate, victimize, and scam countless investors from around the world,” U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan said in the statement.
”As the leader of a sophisticated, multi-person, international fraud scheme, Gignac used his fake persona—Prince Khalid Bin Al-Saud—to sell false hope,” Orshan added.
“He sold his victims on hope for their families, careers, and future. As a result, dozens of unsuspecting investors were stripped of their investments, losing more than $8 million.”
To support his “fraudulent persona,” he traveled with security, bought fake diplomatic license plates, a fake Diplomatic Security Service badge for his bodyguards, traditional Saudi clothing, and referred to himself as “Prince,” “His Royal Highness,” and/or “Sultan,” on his business cards, according to the press release.
Dubbing him a “mastermind,” U.S. District Judge Cecelia Altonaga said Gignac “enveloped himself in the trappings of Saudi royalty,” adding that it was at least the eleventh time he had been arrested for posing as a Saudi prince, reported the Miami Herald.
“He had everyone believing he was a Saudi prince,” Altonaga said.
However, when Gignac attempted to invest in a luxury Miami hotel, its owners became “increasingly wary of Gignac,” mainly because during meals, he willingly and happily ate pork, which would have been against his religion if he were a devout Muslim prince, the Miami Herald reported.
The owners asked their security team to investigate Gignac, then reported their suspicions that he may be an impostor to authorities.
Gignac was arrested late 2017 and pleaded guilty to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and impersonating a diplomat earlier this year, according to court documents.