He claimed to be the Prince of Saudi Arabia for 30 years and stole $ 8 million

Luxury cars, jewelry of all kinds and boxes full of dollars were commonplace in the life of Anthony Gignac, a 48-year-old imposter. he claimed to be the prince of Saudi Arabia to steal 8 million USD to investors around the world. However, the criminal career of the self-proclaimed "Sultan" ended last Friday when a Florida judge sentenced him to 18 years in prison for fraud.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, federal prosecutor in charge of the case, said: "Over the last three decades, Anthony Gignac he has introduced himself as a Saudi prince to manipulate, victimize and cheat to the countless investors around the world ".

The man, convicted for leading a sophisticated scheme of international fraud, I use your fake identity, Khalid Bin Al-Saudto deceive people and organizations. In this regard, Mr. Orshan said: "As a result, dozens of unsuspecting investors have been stripped of their money, resulting in losses of over 8 million USD."

Gignac was born in Colombia and was adopted by a Michigan family in the United States at the age of seven. At seventeen, he began using the image of a member of Saudi royalty defraud credit card companies, merchants and investors. This has led to being arrested 11 times in the last thirty years.

However, the false sultan He started using the name Khalid Bin Al-Saud since May 2015.. To support his lie, he bought fake diplomatic plates and papers for himself and his bodyguards. In addition, he wore traditional Saudi clothing, exclusive rings and watches, collected art and traveled with private jets or luxury yachts.

Since then, his account Instagram @ princedubai_07 reflects the ostentation of Gignac, who He came to publish photographs with members of royalty with titles like "family".

Prosecutors have stated that Gignac had used his false identity for convince people to invest in non-existent business ventures that he said he had in different parts of the world.

But his plan began to collapse in May 2017, when he tried to invest in a luxury hotel in Miami. Then, the owners of the suspected Colombian institutionpartly because of their consumption of pork products, which would normally be prohibited for a Muslim prince.

Following a federal inquiry, Gignac pleaded guilty earlier this year to Electronic fraud, conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.