Anthony Gignac, the Scammer Who Posed as a Saudi Prince for 30 Years

Anthony Gignac, the Scammer Who Posed as a Saudi Prince for 30 Years

EDMOND DANTESUPDATED:JAN 8, 2023 true-story-of-anthony-gicnacs-30-year-charade-as-a-saudi-arabian-prince Anthony Gignac, the scammer who posed as a Saudi prince for 30 years, managed to create a lavish life for himself by pretending to be a wealthy and influential Saudi prince for almost three decades. During this time, he stayed in luxurious hotels, ate at expensive restaurants, drove cars with diplomatic plates, and wore expensive jewelry. However, he was ultimately undone by an amateur mistake. Anthony Gignac, whose real name is José Moreno, was born in 1970 in Columbia. He and his younger brother, Daniel, were orphaned at a young age. In 1977, the two brothers were adopted by a middle-class family in the US state of Michigan and moved to the United States. The beginning of his "career" At the age of 12, Anthony Gignac had already begun pretending to be a member of a royal family. He even convinced a Mercedes dealer to let him take a test drive, telling him that he was the nephew of a Saudi prince. Since 1988, Anthony Gignac has been arrested repeatedly after pretending to be a member of a Middle Eastern royal family. At first, he claimed to be "Prince Adnan Khashoggi," after the famous Saudi Arabian businessman and arms dealer. Later, he started pretending to be "Prince Bin Khalid Al Saud," the tenth child of King Salman of Saudi Arabia. In 1991, the LA Times referred to him in an investigative report as "The Prince of Fraud." Using his royal identity, Anthony Gignac made huge expenses, staying at various hotels in Los Angeles and renting luxury limousines. He promised these companies that members of the royal family would pay for everything in cash or with a check from a Saudi bank Anthony Gignac's scams One of Anthony Gignac's biggest scams was when he convinced American Express to issue him a Platinum credit card with a $200 million credit limit, using the real Prince Al Saud's name. He justified his request by saying that he had lost his card and if he didn't get a new one in time, his father, King Salman, would be upset. His request was approved and American Express issued the "prince" a new card with the requested credit limit. In 2003, Anthony Gignac was arrested after trying to cash a check for $29,000 in the real Prince Al Saud's name. He was sentenced to 77 months in prison in 2006. During the investigation, Gignac told the police that he had received a line of credit from the Saudi Royal Family to not give any statements after he had questionable links with a real Saudi prince. Even prison didn't stop Anthony Gignac. The scammer honed his techniques while behind bars, and when he was released, he continued to pretend to be Prince Al Saud. To be fair, Gignac acted and looked like he was extremely wealthy. He lived in a penthouse in a skyscraper in a posh neighbourhood of Fisher Island, Miami, claiming that he was actually the owner of the entire building. His neighbours included Oprah Winfrey and former tennis player Andre Agassi. Anthony Gignac drove luxury cars like Ferraris, Bentleys, and Rolls Royces, which had diplomatic license plates. He had accessories from luxury brands and wore expensive jewellery How Anthony Gignac was caught Everything came to light when he attempted to contact a wealthy real estate developer named Jeffrey Soffer of Turnberry Associates. Anthony Gignac's representatives contacted the businessman and told him that the prince wanted to invest $440 million in his Miami hotel, the Fontainebleau. Soffer agreed to come to the meeting with Gignac. At their first meeting, the "prince" arrived in a Ferrari with diplomatic plates, convincingly presenting his identity. Thus, Soffer began investing in order to keep the "prince" happy. He took him on his private plane and gave him gifts worth around $50,000. After all, what is $50,000 when the "prince" was going to invest $440 million in Soffer's hotel? However, Soffer still felt that something was not right about the whole story. He noticed during lunches that the "prince" eagerly ate pork. This was completely at odds with the Muslim faith. The developer then asked his security team to closely verify the "prince." Their investigations revealed that Prince Al Saud was none other than Anthony Gignac, a convicted con artist. Soffer reported this to the police. The "prince" was arrested when he tried to fly from London to New York using falsified documents. . Conviction Later, investigators conducted searches at his home in Florida, where they discovered the complexity of the scam. Everything was fake, from the diplomatic license plates, which he had purchased on eBay, to the American Express credit cards, identity documents, and social media accounts. The only true things in Gignac's story were the jewellery and properties he owned. However, all of these assets were obtained through complex fraud. Dozens of people fell victim to Anthony Gignac's scams, as he convinced them he was part of an influential royal family. From his victims, Anthony Gignac obtained at least $8 million and very expensive gifts. In 2019, Anthony Gignac was sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was charged with fraud, false identity, and illegal use of official qualities. This content reflects the personal opinions of the author. It is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and should not be substituted for impartial fact or advice in legal, political, or personal matters.