Miami - Posing as Khalid bin Al Saud, Gignac constructed a personal world of luxury from his regal scam involving fake diplomatic credentials.
Published: Sun 2 Jun 2019, 11:16 PM
A Florida man who posed as a Saudi royal for three decades and cheated people out of $8 million will spend 18 years in prison for fraud, authorities said on Friday.
Anthony Gignac, 48, constructed a personal world of luxury from his regal scam involving fake diplomatic credentials and a coterie of bodyguards.
Posing as Khalid bin Al Saud, he lived in a condo on Miami's posh Fisher Island, drove a Ferrari with a forged diplomatic license plate and eagerly courted investors and gift-givers.
He was accompanied by bodyguards carrying fake diplomatic papers and demanded to be treated according to royal protocol, which he used to justify demands for gifts from potential investors.
Dozens of people deposited money into his bank accounts, thinking Gignac, whose apartment bore a sign on its door reading "Sultan", would invest it.
Instead, he spent it on everything from designer clothes to yachts to private jet rides.
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