Photos: American man, Anthony Gignac, with Instagram handle 'princedubai_07', who posed as a Saudi prince for 20 years, busted
A Michigan man's 20-year con posing as a Saudi prince came crashing down last year when a real estate developer he was trying to woo noticed him eating a very non-Halal pork dish.
Prosecutors say Anthony Gignac posed as a Saudi prince on and off for two decades, but was really from Colombia and adopted as a child by a Michigan couple.
The Miami Herald released new details this week on what led to the 47-year-old's eventual capture in November, when he was caught traveling from London to New York with a passport under a different name.
He posted photos of his lavish lifestyle in a personal Instagram account.
He never showed his face on any of the Instagram posts:
The story clearly doesn't end here as Gignac also managed to live in a penthouse, with luxury cars and traveled in private jets he deemed his own.
The fake royal's representatives had contacted Jeffrey Soffer of Turnberry Associates, pretending to invest $440 million in Miami's Fountainebleau resort.
Following a meeting with Soffer, Gignac introduced himself as Saudi Prince Khalid bin Al-Saud.
Months went by and Soffer grew more and more suspicious of Gignac who continually boasted about his diplomatic privileges. But what really stuck with him (urging him to dig a little deeper) was seeing a supposedly-Muslim Gignac consuming dishes that contained non-halal ingredients (pork dish).
Gignac pleaded guilty in May to charges of impersonating a foreign diplomat or foreign government official, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit fraud.
He is due to be sentenced next month.
Anthony Gignac in 1991, left, and the real Sultan Bin Khalid al Saud (right), who he has admitted to impersonating.
So people, is not only Nigerians doing 419 and Yahoo!!!!!!
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