The Imposter Who Posed as Royalty to Steal Millions

Anthony Gignac presented himself as a Saudi prince while seeking money from investors. (Digital Illustration: GoBeyondLocal)

The Imposter Who Posed as Royalty to Steal Millions

He had a prince's name, a royal title and the kind of lifestyle that made people look twice.

Anthony Gignac introduced himself as Khalid Bin Al-Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family. He used the title Prince, sometimes Sultan, and appeared in the clothes and surroundings expected of someone with access to enormous wealth.

People met him, listened to his business proposals and gave him expensive gifts.

Some also gave him millions of dollars to invest.

The identity had been built with care. Gignac carried business cards bearing royal titles and dressed in traditional Saudi clothing. He displayed photographs of members of the real Saudi royal family on Instagram and presented the images as part of his own family background.

Luxury cars reinforced the impression. Some carried diplomatic licence plates. A bodyguard carried a counterfeit badge associated with the US Diplomatic Security Service.

For people meeting him in expensive surroundings, the pieces formed a convincing picture of a wealthy foreign prince.

Gignac had been using royal identities long before the investment scheme that eventually sent him to federal prison.

His earlier schemes stretched across hotels, retailers and credit card companies. Court records later showed eleven arrests or convictions connected to prince-related schemes between 1988 and 2017.

The royal persona kept returning in different forms.

By 2015, the operation had acquired a much larger target.

Gignac and a co-conspirator created Marden Williams International LLC, presented as a company able to provide access to exclusive business opportunities around the world.

The proposals included ventures involving a pharmaceutical company in Ireland, a casino in Malta, luxury hotels and a jet-fuel trading platform in the Middle East.

Gignac also claimed to have access to shares in Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company.

The pitch depended on his supposed royal connections.

Potential investors were told that his family position gave him access to opportunities ordinary investors could never reach. Documents carrying the names of Saudi officials and other institutions were used to reinforce the claims.

Meetings also followed what Gignac presented as royal protocol. Guests were expected to treat him according to the status he claimed, including through expensive gifts.

Money began moving into the scheme.

Investors from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Hong Kong sent close to $8 million to Gignac and the people working with him.

One investor put about $5 million into a fraudulent investment scheme.

The money went into the life Gignac had created around the prince identity. Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, a yacht, jewellery, designer clothing, private-jet travel and an expensive Fisher Island residence helped maintain the appearance of royal wealth.

Gignac also used the identity in dealings beyond the investment scheme.

In 2017, he presented himself as Prince Khalid Bin Al-Saud while pursuing a proposed purchase involving the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel. The proposal involved a claimed $440 million investment for a 30 percent stake.

The size of the proposed deal placed Gignac in conversations with people accustomed to handling very large sums of money.

Jeffrey Soffer, the Miami businessman connected with the hotel, spent time with the supposed prince and received the same display of wealth that had impressed other people.

During a dinner in Aspen, something about Gignac's behaviour raised questions. His conduct around food conflicted with the religious identity he had presented.

Other details also began to look wrong.

The hotel side investigated the man behind the royal name and passed information to federal authorities.

The investigation reached the Diplomatic Security Service in Miami.

Agents recognised a familiar name. Gignac had crossed paths with the service during an earlier fraud case, and the new investigation connected the supposed Saudi prince with a much larger operation.

Investigators traced financial activity, false identities, fabricated credentials and business claims across several countries.

On November 19, 2017, Gignac arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport after travelling from London.

He was using a passport bearing another person's identity.

US authorities arrested him at the airport.

A search of his Miami residence produced counterfeit diplomatic licence plates, a false Diplomatic Security Service badge, unauthorised credit cards and financial records connected with a member of the Saudi royal family. Agents also recovered jewellery, artwork, cash and ammunition.

The royal identity eventually became part of the evidence against him.

Gignac pleaded guilty to impersonating a foreign diplomat or government official, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

On May 31, 2019, a federal judge in Miami sentenced him to 224 months in prison, a term of more than eighteen years.

By that stage, authorities had identified at least 26 victims across five countries. Their losses exceeded $8 million.

The money trail continued after the sentence.

US authorities had identified $625,000 in criminal proceeds transferred to an account in Jersey. The Royal Court of Jersey later registered a US forfeiture order and froze funds connected with the case.

Some of the recovered money went directly to victims.

In July 2022, $528,973.72 was sent from Jersey to the United States to assist with compensation for additional victims.