0:05

A college student was found dead

0:07

in the woods. This season, we're investigating

0:10

a possible murder. But this isn't your

0:12

typical true crime story. In

0:14

fact, we're going to start where

0:16

the story ends. Back in June, a jury found

0:19

24-year-old Gage Bethune guilty of first-degree

0:21

murder in the death of Pravin Varghese. Today,

0:23

a Jackson County judge threw out the guilty

0:26

verdict and released Bethune on bond. When

0:28

an SIU student dies, a suspect is

0:31

charged and convicted of first-degree

0:33

felony murder. But instead of

0:35

facing potentially decades in prison,

0:37

a judge throws out the jury's verdict

0:39

and lets the convicted killer go free.

0:42

I'm Javier Leyva. And I'm Jon Taylor.

0:44

And this is Criminal Conduct,

0:46

Season 4, Getting Away With Murder.

0:49

Subscribe to Criminal Conduct wherever you

0:51

get your podcasts.

0:59

Jennifer vanished sometime in the overnight

1:01

hours. Right now there is no trace. Investigators

1:03

say evidence leads them to believe that

1:06

she's dead. Stick my nose back in the trail.

1:08

That's all I can do. This

1:11

is Already Gone. Already

1:15

Gone.

1:20

This week's story starts in an unlikely

1:23

place, Columbia, where

1:25

we have two very small children,

1:28

five-year-old Jose, born in 1970,

1:30

and his younger brother, who came along in 1972. These

1:35

boys were orphans, left on the

1:37

streets to fend for themselves, at

1:39

least until an American family came along,

1:42

moving them from South America to the

1:44

suburbs of Detroit, Michigan.

2:01

In June 1977,

2:03

the brothers were adopted through a local orphanage

2:05

by the Gignacs, a middle-class couple

2:08

from Michigan.

2:09

Following the adoption, Jose and

2:12

his brother moved to Michigan and their names

2:14

were changed. Jose became

2:16

Anthony Gignac. The two boys

2:18

had to learn to speak English. It

2:21

was a big change. Those

2:24

who knew the family during this time of transition

2:27

said that it was clear his time on the streets

2:29

had impacted Anthony deeply.

2:32

Social status was important to Anthony.

2:34

He wanted his peers to think that

2:36

he was special. He told

2:39

classmates that his mother owned a luxury

2:41

hotel and that his father was

2:43

a well-known actor. You

2:46

might say these are little lies and that

2:48

children sometimes fib to make themselves

2:51

seem important. But

2:53

by middle school, Anthony was telling

2:55

some whoppers. Vanity

2:57

Fair reported that when he was in grade six,

3:00

Anthony called the local Mercedes dealership

3:02

and explained that he was a Saudi prince

3:04

whose dad was going to buy him a Mercedes.

3:08

Anthony convinced a salesman to pick him up

3:10

at the mall and give him a test ride.

3:12

Anthony then told

3:14

the salesman that yes, he would buy the Mercedes.

3:17

His father would send the money. Anthony

3:21

gave the salesman his mother's phone number

3:23

and at some point the dealership called Anthony's

3:26

mother and said the Mercedes was

3:28

ready for pickup. How

3:30

Anthony's mother responded to the phone call

3:33

and how Anthony explained the test rides? Well,

3:36

we can't say.

3:38

But when Anthony did not pick up the car

3:41

or pay for it, the dealership contacted

3:43

law enforcement who contacted

3:45

the Gignacs. Anthony was sent

3:47

to therapy and to a special camp

3:50

to address his issues. Unfortunately,

3:53

while Anthony was at this camp, he

3:56

spun a story about the wealth and power

3:58

his family held in the community. When

4:03

Anthony was 12 years old, the Gignacs

4:05

divorced and he went with his mother, while his

4:08

younger brother went with their dad.

4:10

According to Vanity Fair, this made things

4:12

worse for Anthony. He later testified,

4:15

The one person who meant

4:17

anything to me, my brother, whom

4:19

I took under my wings, was taken from me.

4:24

Anthony had a mental breakdown and was

4:26

sent to two psychiatric hospitals and

4:28

a halfway house. In 1987, Anthony was 17

4:31

years old and he chose to leave home. Once again, he was a street

4:33

kid, but

4:39

instead of finding food and shelter for

4:41

himself and his brother, he took

4:43

to stealing credit cards and using them

4:45

to book limousines.

4:48

He would ride around the Detroit area in

4:50

the back of the limo,

4:51

trying to pass himself off as Prince

4:54

Adnan Khashoggi, a

4:55

billionaire Saudi arms dealer who was

4:57

the richest man in the world at the time.

5:01

Before long, Detroit wasn't enough

5:03

for him. Anthony set his sights

5:05

on California, LA,

5:07

to be specific.

5:09

His mother's partner told Vanity Fair

5:11

that Anthony was drawn there by the glitz and

5:13

glamour of Hollywood.

5:20

Once in LA, he varied his cons.

5:22

Sometimes it was a credit card bearing the name

5:24

of a Saudi prince or another Middle Eastern

5:27

name.

5:28

Other times, he would simply present himself

5:30

as royalty and announce that his father

5:33

would be sending payment for whatever items,

5:35

meals, or hotel rooms he needed.

5:39

According to the American Greed TV

5:41

series, employees would often give in

5:43

to Anthony,

5:44

not because they believed him,

5:46

but because he became very loud and

5:48

aggressive if they didn't give him what he wanted.

5:51

He would yell at anyone

5:53

who challenged his identity by asking,

5:56

Do you know who my parents are? A

6:00

former assistant U.S. attorney said people

6:02

ended up believing what Anthony said because

6:05

it was just so crazy.

6:07

The attorney said, Nobody

6:09

would really believe that you were faking this, that

6:11

you would draw that much attention to yourself

6:13

and scream and yell, because it's

6:15

so bold

6:17

and opposite what you would normally expect

6:19

a con man to do.

6:20

That's probably why it worked.

6:24

While in his early twenties, Anthony's

6:27

pretending to be a prince whose family

6:29

will pay the tab, Trick worked

6:31

well for him, at least for a while. In 1991,

6:35

when he was just 21 years old, he

6:37

defrauded multiple businesses in Los

6:40

Angeles out of more than $10,000.

6:44

He stayed at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

6:46

While there, he charged meals to

6:48

the room and had the staff refer to him as,

6:51

Your Highness. The

6:53

hotel also booked limo services

6:55

for him. Later,

6:58

when asked about Anthony, the owner

7:00

of the service referred to him as, A heck

7:03

of a con man, he's excellent.

7:07

While shopping in Los Angeles, he convinced

7:09

shop employees to give him Louis Vuitton

7:12

luggage and a rare coin collection.

7:15

But the con was short-lived.

7:16

After only four days, they asked about the

7:19

status of his bill, which was in the thousands.

7:21

He was dismissive, saying his

7:24

father would handle it.

7:25

The hotel staff became suspicious

7:27

and they phoned the police.

7:30

Anthony was arrested. The

7:35

prosecutor charged him with four counts of

7:37

grand theft, one count of credit card

7:39

abuse, and one count of forgery.

7:42

They offered a plea bargain, which Anthony turned

7:44

down. He wanted a trial.

7:48

The trial began in October 1991 and

7:51

the prosecution called multiple witnesses.

7:55

After hearing from many of the witnesses Anthony

7:57

gave up, he chose to plead no

7:59

con... contest to all charges. The

8:02

LA Times, who were covering the trial,

8:05

dubbed Anthony the Prince of Fraud.

8:10

In November of 1991, he

8:12

was sentenced to two years behind bars,

8:15

but he would barely serve eight months.

8:18

At sentencing, Anthony offered a $1,000 check

8:21

to help make up the money he'd defrauded.

8:23

He told the judge he'd offer up a second

8:26

check, also for $1,000, if he got probation.

8:30

Not surprisingly, the judge declined,

8:32

telling Anthony that he needed to spend

8:35

some time behind bars.

8:41

By the summer of 1992, Anthony

8:44

was a free man.

8:45

Rather than being reformed, he decided

8:47

to up his game.

8:49

He forged documents that made it appear that

8:51

he was a member of the Saudi royal family.

8:54

These documents included firms and banks

8:57

associated with the family and seals

8:59

that appeared genuine.

9:01

He even had credit cards in the name

9:03

of Khalid bin al-Saud.

9:06

He used this fake card to book a stay at the

9:08

Ritz Carlton San Francisco. He

9:11

lived there for weeks until the fraudulent

9:13

charges were caught. Once again,

9:15

Anthony is arrested, and he served

9:18

six weeks in jail. When

9:21

he was released, he flew out to Hawaii,

9:24

where he continued to pose as a prince. He

9:27

also conned two couples out of $30,000. He tricked

9:29

one couple, telling them they were

9:33

buying a stake in a Saudi Arabian oil

9:35

field. The other couple

9:37

agreed to pay his $21,000 tab

9:41

at the Hawaiian resort where he was staying.

9:45

While these couples didn't suspect anything,

9:48

the hotel staff were suspicious, and

9:50

they ran a check on him and revealed

9:52

that he wasn't a prince. He was a cheat

9:55

and a fraud. Once again,

9:57

the police are summoned. But

10:01

they didn't arrest Anthony, and hours

10:03

later, a member of the hotel staff

10:05

introduced Anthony to a wealthy couple who

10:08

frequently stayed there.

10:10

Anthony asked the couple if they would cover his

10:12

hotel stay, and he offered up

10:14

expensive pieces of jewelry as collateral.

10:17

They agreed, not realizing it

10:19

was all a setup.

10:23

When the couple eventually found out that Anthony

10:26

was a scammer, they sued the hotel and

10:28

won a sizable settlement in return.

10:32

Anthony was not deterred by his time in

10:34

jail or by his run-ins with the police.

10:37

He moved his scam once again,

10:39

this time headed to Florida.

10:41

In 1993, 23-year-old Anthony stayed at the Walt

10:45

Disney World Grand Floridian Beach

10:47

Resort,

10:48

where he racked up almost $15,000 in charges,

10:52

before he was arrested.

10:55

Once he was released from custody, he

10:57

relocated to another hotel and

11:00

spent almost $30,000.

11:03

He also treated himself at the local

11:05

mall,

11:05

dropping $50,000 at Saks Fifth Avenue. He

11:09

met a couple of men at the mall and invited

11:11

them back to his hotel to party. Rather

11:13

than enjoying a good time,

11:16

the two men assaulted and robbed Anthony.

11:21

Police were called to the hotel and told that

11:23

a member of the Saudi royal family, a

11:26

prince, had been attacked. Thinking

11:29

they had an international incident on their

11:31

hands, they called the Saudi embassy.

11:34

The embassy told police they had no idea

11:36

what they were talking about.

11:38

The real prince was not in Florida.

11:41

By the time police went back to the hotel

11:43

to place Anthony under arrest, he

11:45

was long gone.

11:52

One of the officers who worked on this specific

11:55

case told the spokesman review, "...I've

11:57

busted people claiming to be many things."

12:00

I once had a businessman with four resumes

12:02

in his briefcase and a mustache and beard

12:04

kit. But

12:05

to impersonate royalty?

12:07

That's pretty bold. Months

12:11

later, Anthony is arrested in Chicago,

12:14

likely for the same bad behavior. He

12:16

was extradited to Florida to face charges.

12:19

Rather than wait in jail for his trial, he

12:22

started calling lawyers and listeners,

12:24

You're going to love this.

12:26

Anthony told these lawyers that he was a

12:29

Saudi prince being held on charges.

12:32

If the lawyer agreed to pay his bond

12:34

and get him released, Anthony's family,

12:36

the royal family of Saudi Arabia, would

12:39

wire the funds.

12:41

He made dozens of calls, but finally

12:43

he found someone who agreed to put up the nearly $50,000

12:45

bond.

12:48

But once Anthony was released, they didn't

12:50

just let him go.

12:52

They took him back to the law office to await

12:54

payment from his father. When

12:56

the payment didn't arrive, Anthony

12:58

was quick to ask them to take him to the local

13:00

American Express office.

13:04

When they arrived at the office, he

13:06

explained that he'd lost his card and needed

13:09

a new one.

13:11

American Express staff were skeptical.

13:13

When they didn't do as he asked, he started

13:15

screaming at them about the anger of his father,

13:18

the king. That's when

13:20

the employees asked Anthony the security

13:22

questions on the prince's account. And

13:25

listeners, Anthony got them right.

13:28

You see, he'd paid off a couple of people

13:30

at American Express to help in his scam.

13:32

So they handed Anthony

13:34

a card with a $200 million credit limit. That's

13:38

right, $200 million.

13:42

And once again,

13:43

Anthony Gignac is a free man. And

13:46

listeners, we'll be right back

13:48

after this message from our sponsor. Rolex

14:00

watches, gifts for his friends

14:02

at American Express,

14:04

and a new diamond and emerald bracelet

14:06

for himself.

14:08

He and the bondsman traveled the country

14:10

by limousine. They stayed at luxury

14:12

hotels and they flew first class. But

14:15

this didn't last long. The fraudulent

14:18

charges were reported and the card

14:20

was declined.

14:21

This is how the bail bondsman learned that

14:23

Anthony was not a prince.

14:25

So they took him back to jail.

14:28

He would be sentenced to 616 days for fraud and grand theft,

14:32

stemming from the Saxith Avenue purchases

14:35

among others.

14:37

But being behind bars did not slow

14:39

his role.

14:40

While in jail in 1994, he posed as Prince Elsod and

14:45

called Syracuse University. He

14:47

told them he wanted to donate $45 million to

14:49

the school,

14:51

but only if they would wire him a portion

14:54

of the taxes for donation. This

14:56

is about $16,000. And the

14:59

school did send the money to his bank account

15:02

back in Michigan.

15:03

How that the bank account back in Michigan

15:06

didn't set off red flags? We'll never

15:08

know.

15:11

This bank account in Michigan was opened

15:13

by Anthony's younger brother. Both

15:15

Anthony and his brother were charged

15:17

with wire fraud for the Syracuse incident.

15:20

Anthony was sentenced to three years and 10 months

15:22

behind bars.

15:24

While serving that sentence, he tried to escape

15:27

prison by covering his cell floor with shampoo

15:29

and lighting his cell on fire. You

15:32

see, by doing this, Anthony thought he

15:34

could distract the guards and make his escape.

15:36

For this stunt, he was given

15:39

an additional three years. In 2002,

15:42

Anthony, who is now 32 years old, is

15:46

released on parole. Instead

15:48

of heading for another hotel and another scam,

15:51

he moved home, back in with his mom.

15:54

But it didn't take long before he was back

15:56

to presenting himself as a prince.

16:01

In the summer of 2002, he was

16:03

arrested in Florida after charging almost $30,000

16:05

at two outlet malls.

16:08

He also tried to buy a Lamborghini

16:10

using a faux wire transfer.

16:13

While waiting for the transfer, he was given a Mercedes

16:15

convertible to drive.

16:17

You see, Anthony had shown the dealership

16:20

a Platinum Amex with the name of Prince El-Sod

16:22

on the card. Plus, he

16:24

knew so much about the royal family that he

16:26

could pass.

16:29

Anthony was arrested and charged with grand

16:31

theft, using a false name to get a credit

16:34

card and more. In December

16:36

of 2002,

16:37

Anthony pleaded no contest to using

16:39

a false name to get a credit card.

16:41

This was a misdemeanor. The serious

16:44

charges, including grand theft, were dropped

16:47

because someone had paid off the entire

16:49

American Express bill.

16:51

According to a prosecutor, it was paid

16:54

on time or within a week of the bill being

16:56

due. Prosecutors do

16:58

not know how the bill was paid.

17:00

Hours after the pleading, Anthony was

17:02

released from jail and he went back to

17:05

Michigan.

17:08

In 2003, Anthony hit

17:10

up my favorite Michigan shopping destination,

17:12

the Somerset Collection.

17:14

While there, he again poses as Prince

17:17

El-Sod.

17:18

He spends $11,000 at Saks Fifth Avenue.

17:21

Then he heads to Neiman Marcus.

17:24

While at Neiman Marcus, he spent almost $20,000

17:27

using a credit card with a real account number

17:29

tied to the Saudi royal family.

17:34

But

17:34

while he was shopping, someone at the

17:36

store was not treating Anthony the way

17:38

he expected to be treated and he

17:40

caused a scene.

17:42

Police were called and he was arrested.

17:44

When asked how he had the actual

17:46

credit card number for a member of the Saudi

17:48

royal family, he says that's because

17:51

he knows them and is using the card

17:53

with their permission. Then

17:56

Anthony spins a story. He

17:58

says that he had an affair with a woman.

17:59

the Saudi prince, and the royal family

18:02

now supports him to buy his silence and

18:04

discretion.

18:06

Not surprisingly, the claims are looked

18:08

into. The

18:09

Saudi embassy, who has to be tired

18:12

of Anthony at this point, is once again

18:14

the recipient of a phone call.

18:17

An assistant to the U.S. ambassador to Saudi

18:19

Arabia told authorities that Anthony was

18:22

"...not a member of the royal family,

18:24

nor associated in any way with the Saudi

18:27

royal family."

18:28

This time, Anthony is charged with

18:31

impersonating a diplomat.

18:34

While awaiting trial, Anthony mailed

18:36

a letter to Citibank,

18:38

demanding that $3.9 million from the

18:41

Real Prince's Trust Fund

18:43

be wired to him.

18:45

Anthony was caught making this demand, and

18:47

he was charged with bank fraud.

18:50

In 2006, Anthony pleaded guilty

18:53

to attempted bank fraud

18:54

and impersonating a foreign diplomat.

18:57

He was sentenced to six years, five

18:59

months in federal prison.

19:02

Anthony was released in December of 2011.

19:05

He was quickly back in prison after the

19:08

FBI found a binder that

19:10

was filled with forged documents.

19:12

Anthony had used these forged documents

19:14

to get credit cards and things like that.

19:17

He was given another year in prison

19:19

for having the binder. Anthony

19:22

being Anthony asked that the binder be

19:24

returned to him, but his request

19:26

was denied. In 2013,

19:31

Anthony is 43 years old. He's

19:33

finally out of prison and has a four-year

19:35

parole period where he has to stay

19:38

out of trouble.

19:39

So what do you think Anthony did?

19:42

If you guessed flying to Florida and impersonating

19:44

a prince, you were right.

19:46

He tried to buy a $200 million resort

19:49

with fraudulent funds and was immediately

19:51

caught and returned to Michigan.

19:56

At a court hearing to discuss violating

19:58

his parole, Anthony

19:59

told the court that he was the judge that he went to Florida

20:01

to help treat his depression and so he

20:03

could see his brother. He

20:05

said he was done impersonating princes.

20:08

He said, quote,

20:09

I have changed. I was not a threat

20:11

to the community, Your Honor. I have history,

20:14

yes. I have made a lot of horrible

20:16

mistakes.

20:18

The worst mistake that I've ever made was going

20:20

to prison

20:21

and not being there for my mother when she died.

20:23

I

20:24

promised my mother that I would never, ever

20:26

come back to prison for a new crime.

20:29

The prosecution, of course, said Anthony

20:32

was lying. He had been impersonating

20:34

the prince and trying to run a $200 million scam. They

20:36

said he needed to

20:39

be in prison so he could stop defrauding

20:41

people.

20:42

The judge agreed and gave Anthony a year for

20:45

the probation violation.

20:47

Once he had served his year behind bars,

20:49

he was out and back at it again. At

20:52

this point, Anthony is older and

20:54

we hope that he is wiser. Rather

20:57

than defrauding hotels and businesses,

21:00

he wanted something more, something

21:02

big. He wanted to defraud

21:04

the ultra-rich, but first

21:06

he needed to find someone who could introduce

21:08

him to rich people. In 2015,

21:13

Anthony, posing as Prince Alsaud,

21:16

met the person he needed, Carl

21:19

Martin Williamson, a 51-year-old

21:21

asset manager who had a lot of wealthy

21:24

international contacts.

21:26

Now,

21:27

we're not sure if Carl knew the truth about Anthony

21:30

not being a prince.

21:31

According to Carl's wife, he truly

21:34

believed that Anthony was Prince Alsaud.

21:36

Anthony showed Carl a bank

21:38

statement showing a $600 million dollar

21:40

balance.

21:42

Carl is excited to have this new friend

21:45

and he's eager to make introductions on

21:47

his behalf.

21:48

Even though they've only met recently,

21:50

Carl will tell people he'd known the prince

21:53

and his family for 20 years,

21:55

and this is a flat-out lie.

22:00

Carl established an investment company

22:02

for Anthony,

22:03

Martin Williamson International.

22:06

The company is exclusive. It

22:08

is only for the richest people.

22:10

Martin Williamson International, or

22:13

MWI, was set up like this.

22:16

Anthony and Carl would tell investors that the prince,

22:18

who was actually Anthony, had a

22:20

significant stake in Saad Aramco,

22:23

an oil company controlled by the Saudi

22:25

family. They told potential

22:28

investors that Saad Aramco was

22:30

set to go public, and they were offering

22:32

discounted shares,

22:34

offering investors five times

22:36

what they put into the company.

22:38

And as a side note, Saad Aramco

22:40

did eventually go public, but it was years

22:43

after the scam was created.

22:45

Also, we don't know what

22:47

Carl knew. Did he knowingly scam

22:49

investors, or was he just as suckered

22:52

as the investors themselves?

22:54

Carl would tell these investors that it was

22:56

customary for people doing business with

22:58

the prince to give him super extravagant

23:01

gifts.

23:02

And by super extravagant, we mean things

23:04

like paintings by famous artists,

23:07

pieces of jewelry, or large sums

23:09

of cash.

23:11

These investors were told they would be holding

23:14

the prince in high esteem

23:16

if they offered him luxury gifts.

23:19

But Saad Aramco was not the only

23:21

investment on offer.

23:23

There was also a platform for trading jet

23:25

fuel, a casino in Malta,

23:28

and an Irish pharmaceutical company.

23:30

It was the same setup, buy a stake in

23:32

this company for cheap and get a huge return.

23:35

But any money that was given to MWI

23:38

did not go into any real investments.

23:40

The money went in Anthony's pocket. He

23:44

used the money to maintain his life of luxury,

23:46

which in turn helped him continue conning

23:48

people

23:49

into believing that he was a prince.

23:52

In listeners, he lived like a prince.

23:54

He drove a Bentley or a Rolls Royce.

23:57

He traveled with an entourage, and he

23:59

used private

23:59

Jets and Yachts, which he of course

24:02

claimed to own.

24:04

In the age of social media, Anthony

24:06

became a darling. He created an Instagram

24:09

account called Prince Dubai 07,

24:11

where he flaunted his wealth and status,

24:14

but

24:14

he was very careful not to show

24:16

his face in any of those photos.

24:20

According to the New York Times, he had business

24:23

cards labeled Prince or His Royal

24:25

Highness.

24:26

He also had a penchant for taking fake

24:29

phone calls from notable people like billionaires,

24:32

presidents, and high-profile executives.

24:35

His father, the King, was known to

24:37

ring him up on occasion.

24:41

To help Anthony connect with more investors,

24:43

Carl introduced him to a woman we'll call Linda.

24:46

Linda's specialty was connecting high-net-worth

24:49

people to investment opportunities.

24:51

According to Vanity Fair, she opened

24:54

major doors for Anthony, Carl,

24:56

and MWI.

24:58

Now I don't think that Linda was part of the

25:00

scam and she's never been charged and

25:02

her name is not public information.

25:07

In February of 2017, Anthony

25:09

completed the parole that he had violated

25:12

almost constantly since his release.

25:15

To mark the occasion, he started looking

25:17

at homes on exclusive and desirable

25:19

Fisher Island off the coast of Miami.

25:22

His first choice was a $21 million condo,

25:26

but he didn't have the money.

25:28

He went with his second choice, renting

25:30

a three-bedroom penthouse and a Fisher

25:32

Island high-rise for $15,000 a month.

25:35

He of course told everyone that he owned the

25:38

entire building.

25:40

Weeks after coming off parole, he

25:42

set his sights on the Fountain Blue Hotel

25:45

in Miami Beach.

25:47

In March of 2017, Anthony

25:50

told Carl and Linda that he wanted

25:52

to buy a stake in the Fountain Blue.

25:55

Hearing his request, Linda placed

25:57

a call to Jeffrey Sofer, who owned the hotel.

26:00

No,

26:00

Jeffrey's

26:03

family was worth $4.2 billion,

26:07

and yes, that's billion with a B dollars.

26:10

Anthony had no intention of actually buying

26:12

into the hotel,

26:13

he just wanted expensive gifts from Jeffrey

26:16

during negotiations.

26:19

According to Vanity Fair, the Fountain

26:21

Blue had been struggling with debt for years.

26:23

So when Linda called Jeffrey and

26:25

said Prince El-Saud wanted to buy a 30% stake

26:28

in the hotel for $440

26:30

million,

26:31

Jeffrey was very interested. A 30% stake

26:33

was only worth about $300 million, making

26:38

this a great deal for Jeffrey. It

26:42

can be hard to understand why someone extremely

26:44

wealthy, like Jeffrey, would fall

26:46

for Anthony's scam. But I thought

26:49

this quote from Robin Farzad, author

26:51

of Hotel Scarface,

26:53

helps explain why something like this could happen.

26:56

Robin told Vice that, Miami

26:59

doesn't have the due diligence culture like

27:01

Wall Street and New York. If you are a

27:03

developer and someone is offering you cash with

27:05

no mortgage or no documentation involved,

27:08

you are very happy to take that cash.

27:10

Miami is the hot money capital

27:13

of the world.

27:17

Statistics show that Florida is

27:19

one of the easiest places in the United

27:21

States to scam people.

27:23

Vice reported that in 2016 and 2017,

27:26

Florida was ranked first and second

27:28

respectively for fraud and identity

27:30

theft complaints by the Federal

27:32

Trade Commission.

27:35

So after Jeffrey told Linda he

27:37

was interested in the offer to purchase a stake

27:39

in the hotel,

27:40

Prince El-Saud called Jeffrey personally.

27:43

Over the next few months, they would

27:45

get the ball rolling on the Prince's investment.

27:50

In May, Anthony, Carl,

27:52

Linda, and Anthony's bodyguards went

27:54

to the fountain blue.

27:56

Anthony paid for rooms and food for everyone.

27:58

He charged it.

27:59

all to a credit card under El-Sod's

28:02

name.

28:03

While there, Anthony told everyone he

28:05

was making a deal with his good friend, Jeffrey

28:08

Sofer.

28:11

On August 11, Anthony invited

28:13

Jeffrey and his business associates to

28:15

his place on Fisher Island.

28:17

He said he wanted to discuss the terms

28:19

of their deal.

28:21

Anthony gave the associates a tour of his

28:23

garage, which was filled with luxury cars.

28:26

He also took them to his penthouse,

28:29

the name Sultan was on the door buzzer.

28:32

Inside his place, Anthony showed them

28:34

proof he could make the $440 million

28:36

investment.

28:39

He then showed them an ornate box which

28:41

contained a letter

28:42

purportedly from the Bank of Dubai

28:45

guaranteeing the availability of $600 million.

28:49

Anthony told Jeffrey and his associates

28:51

that before he could make the investment,

28:54

Jeffrey needed to show his respect through

28:56

gifts.

28:57

So that day, Jeffrey gave Anthony some

28:59

really nice gifts like jewelry and paintings.

29:02

Some sources say he gave $50,000 worth of gifts,

29:05

while others put the number closer to $150,000. But here is where

29:08

it starts to unravel.

29:15

On August 13, Jeffrey flew

29:17

Anthony and some hotel executives to

29:19

Aspen on Jeffrey's private jet.

29:22

They

29:22

were to continue investment discussions

29:24

there. At this point, according

29:26

to Vanity Fair,

29:27

Jeffrey and his executives were starting to

29:30

have doubts about Anthony.

29:33

You see, they looked into the high rise

29:35

he claimed to own on Fisher Island, and they found

29:37

that he didn't actually own it. He

29:39

just rented his penthouse.

29:42

Their suspicions only increased while

29:44

they were in Aspen.

29:46

One night, over dinner, the prince ordered

29:48

a pork dish.

29:50

This was very suspicious to everyone, as

29:52

the prince was a Muslim, and Muslims

29:55

did not eat pork. When

29:56

they asked him why he was able to eat

29:59

pork, Anthony became

29:59

a came indignant and started to yell that

30:02

no one should question the prince.

30:05

On August 15, everyone returned to

30:08

Miami.

30:09

Anthony offered to drive one of Jeffrey's executives

30:11

home in his Ferrari, which had diplomatic

30:14

license plates.

30:15

During the drive, the executive complained that

30:18

Anthony was driving recklessly.

30:20

Anthony responded by saying nothing would

30:22

happen if he was pulled over because he had diplomatic

30:25

immunity.

30:26

This made the executive even more suspicious.

30:31

Even Jeffrey felt that something was off,

30:33

so he hired D.C. Page, a

30:35

former federal agent who runs a firm

30:37

that specializes in providing business

30:39

intelligence.

30:41

Page figured out that Anthony was not

30:43

a diplomat,

30:44

nor was he a member of the Saudi royal

30:46

family. Once

30:48

Page had completed his report on Anthony

30:51

for Jeffrey,

30:52

he sent a copy of it to the State Department

30:55

and the FBI. The

30:56

Diplomatic Security Service, which

30:58

is an agency I've never heard of but is apparently

31:01

a big deal, took over the case.

31:04

DSS agents tracked Anthony

31:06

and Carl from Dubai to Hong Kong.

31:09

The pair, along with Anthony's entourage,

31:11

were traveling to meet with investors

31:14

trying to get more money from them.

31:17

They were taken into custody in New York in

31:19

November of 2017.

31:21

Anthony was held and Carl was

31:23

released.

31:27

When investigators searched Anthony's penthouse

31:29

on Fisher Island, they found two

31:31

fake license plates, and

31:34

a fraudulent DSS special agent badge,

31:36

as well as unauthorized credit cards, and

31:39

financial documents in the name of a member

31:41

of the Saudi royal family.

31:43

They also found thousands of dollars in

31:45

cash, along with jewelry and

31:47

artwork.

31:49

According to Vanity Fair, investigators

31:52

would later find out that about half of the expensive

31:54

jewelry Anthony owned was fake.

31:57

To save money on keeping up appearances, he

32:00

often bought the cheapest Rolex available,

32:02

and then had a jeweler glue inexpensive

32:05

diamonds to the Rolex. He

32:08

leased or borrowed luxury cars and

32:10

yachts under various pretenses,

32:12

and then explained their disappearance by saying

32:14

that he had grown tired of them.

32:19

On December 14, Carl's house

32:21

was raided by federal agents.

32:23

He was interrogated for six hours while

32:25

his house was searched.

32:27

When they were done, Carl was not taken

32:30

into custody.

32:31

That evening, Carl told his wife

32:33

that he didn't know Anthony was lying about

32:35

being a prince.

32:37

He then went into a room in their house, and

32:39

Carl took his own life.

32:44

Authorities ended up finding enough evidence

32:46

to charge Carl as a co-conspirator in

32:48

the MWI scam,

32:50

but after his death, Anthony faced

32:52

charges alone.

32:54

Anthony was charged with conspiring to commit

32:57

a crime against the United States,

32:59

passing himself off as a foreign diplomat,

33:02

misuse of a passport, aggravated

33:04

identity theft, and possession

33:06

of a firearm by a convicted felon.

33:09

In total, Anthony, Carl,

33:12

and MWI would scam 26 investors

33:15

from at least five countries out of $8 million.

33:20

In March of 2019, 48-year-old

33:23

Anthony Gignac pleaded guilty to one count

33:25

each of impersonating a foreign diplomat

33:28

or foreign government official,

33:30

aggravated identity theft, wire

33:32

fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire

33:35

fraud.

33:37

In May, he was sentenced to over 18

33:39

years in prison. Anthony

33:42

spoke at the sentencing hearing, saying, quote,

33:45

The entire blame of this entire operation

33:47

is on me and I accept that.

33:50

But then he insisted that

33:52

other people should have been charged along

33:54

with him, and he added, I am not

33:57

a monster.

33:59

Following the story,

33:59

sentence the U.S. Attorney's Office released

34:02

a statement that read, in part,

34:04

over the course of the last three decades, Anthony

34:06

Gignac has portrayed himself as a Saudi

34:08

prince to manipulate, victimize,

34:11

and scam countless investors from

34:13

around the world.

34:15

As the leader of a sophisticated multi-person

34:18

international fraud scheme,

34:19

Anthony used his fake persona,

34:22

Prince Khalid bin Al-Saud, to

34:24

sell false hope. He sold

34:26

his victims on hope for their families, careers,

34:29

and future.

34:31

As a result, dozens of unsuspecting

34:33

investors were stripped of their investments,

34:36

losing more than eight million dollars.

34:39

Today, in a federal court of law, Justice

34:42

spoke for the victims, and Anthony Gignac

34:44

will now face years in prison.

34:47

As of this recording, Anthony is incarcerated

34:50

at FCI Florence in Colorado. His

34:52

release date is scheduled for February 28,

34:55

2032, when Anthony

34:58

is 61 years old.

35:01

I'm Nina Instead, the writer, producer,

35:04

and voice behind the Already Gone podcast.

35:07

I appreciate you listening, and please

35:09

be safe.