Today in History - May 31: Conman exposed by what he ordered from the menu
A long-time fraudster posing as a Saudi prince was jailed for 18 years on May 31, 2019.
Over the course of 30 years, Anthony Gignac carried out a series of cons, ripping investors off to the tune of millions of dollars.
His most common scams involved posing as a member of the Saudi royal family, in spite of the fact he was a Colombian-American.
Anthony Gignac spent years pretending to be a Saudi prince. Miami Police Department
As a 12-year-old, he convinced a car dealer to let him test drive a Mercedes by claiming he was a Saudi royal.
From there, he continued his scams, obtaining a credit card from American Express with a limit of US$200 million.
He would flaunt his wealth on Instagram, and would be frequently overheard speaking on the phone with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
On social media, he posted photos of himself with the king of Saudi Arabia with the caption: "My dad".
He travelled with security, and carried business cards describing him as His Royal Highness or Sultan.
He also insisted on enforcing a royal protocol of gift-giving, with investors unwittingly giving him expensive paintings, jewellery or memorabilia to win his favour.
But Gignac was arrested in 2017 after a menu order gave him away.
He was meeting with billionaire Jeffrey Soffer at the hotel he was pretending to be interested in investing in.
At the time of the meeting, Soffer was married to Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson.
Elle Macpherson and Jeffrey Soffer. FilmMagic / Pichichi/Splash News
While there, he ordered a pork dish off the menu.
Soffer viewed this as highly suspicious, given devout Muslims refrain from eating pork.
His company began to investigate Gignac, and when they found he wasn't who he claimed to be, they called the US State Department.
Gignac was arrested soon after.
For more from our Today in History archive, click here
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