Police say fake Saudi prince rang up royal shopping tab

Orlando Sentinel (& Fark.com) ^ | 6.5.02 | Doris Bloodsworth

[mhking]

Police say fake Saudi prince rang up royal shopping tab

By Doris Bloodsworth
Sentinel Staff Writer
June 5, 2002

Behind the wheel of the $55,000 Mercedes convertible with a trunk full of designer clothes, the 31-year-old tourist could have passed for royalty.

Even as Orlando police Tuesday led Anthony Enrique Gignac handcuffed to the patrol car outside Sheraton Studio City Hotel on International Drive, he continued to play the role of a Saudi Arabian prince.

"Call the embassy!" shouted the man who police said has fooled people for years from Miami to Honolulu, claiming he was Khaled al Saud, the grandson of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia and one of the world's wealthiest men.

Orlando police and Orange County sheriff's detectives said they were tipped by an American Express investigator who was familiar with Gignac and was aware he was in Central Florida. Police charged Gignac with second-degree grand theft Tuesday and booked him into the Orange County Jail.

Investigators said Gignac arrived at the 21-story I-Drive hotel Monday and had already charged more than $27,000 at two factory outlet malls.

Court records show Gignac, who grew up in Michigan, California and the Washington, D.C., area, has been convicted several times for using similar schemes since he was a teenager, including a 1993 Orange County conviction for credit-card fraud.

He has served several prison terms. A probation report more than a decade ago said Gignac was so convincing, "it is doubtful he will give it up for a mundane existence."

Orlando police Sgt. Orlando Rolon said investigators arrested Gignac on Tuesday morning as he left the hotel toward the white, 1999 Mercedes SL500 he had leased from a South Florida dealership. Later, he was led out past surprised law-enforcement officers, who were attending a seminar on fraud prevention.

Rick Rassam, owner of Autobahn Motors in Pompano Beach, said Gignac on Friday had picked out two Lamborghinis worth a half-million dollars, but was waiting on a wire transfer.

While waiting, Rassam leased the Mercedes convertible to a man he thought was a Saudi prince after Gignac showed the dealer a platinum American Express card with al Saud's name.

The South Florida dealer said he thought Gignac was a Saudi prince because he knew details about the names and cars of customers from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington who had bought cars at Autobahn.

Embassy spokesman Nail Al-Jubeir said he gets anguished calls from hotels, store owners and even private citizens about people posing as royalty.

"You've got some of the top hotels in the country that have been had," he said. "Unfortunately, we're in a society where people think that by throwing out names you can get ahead."

Court records show Gignac has a history of doing just that.

In 1993, dressed in Armani suits and traveling in stretch limousines, he tipped generously while staying at the Grand Bay penthouse in Miami, records show. He left town, but police caught him in Chicago, still posing as the Saudi prince.

Back in Miami-Dade County, awaiting trial for fraud charges of more than $70,000, news reports show Gignac convinced an attorney to arrange bail because he was Prince al Saud in August 1994. Gignac once again acquired an American Express card under his assumed royal name. A spokeswoman for the credit-card company said the account had a $200 million credit line.

Later in 1994, Gignac was in Honolulu, where authorities said he conned the founders of Jhirmack hair products into paying his almost $21,000 hotel bill.

American Express spokeswoman Judy Tenzer acknowledged the company's past problems with Gignac and said, "We have to balance our need to provide the best service with the need to prevent fraud."

Gwyneth K. Shaw of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Doris Bloodsworth can be reached at dbloodsworth@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5446.

[mhking]

I like the Fark headline: Man poses as Saudi Prince, runs up Royal Shopping tab, Saudi authorities wanting to bring him to Saudi Arabia so they can behead him

[WIMom]

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[Tennessee_Bob]

Wants to pretend he's a Saudi? Fine. Let's ship him out to Saudi.

Make sure he gets off the plane with a suitcase full of Bibles and a John 3:16 T-shirt.

[dennisw]

beep!

[cmsgop]

He should really buy himself an A-Cup if you ask me......

[rdb3]

This is about as sad as when that white kid darkened his skin and robbed a bank. Remember that?

[steve-b]

A probation report more than a decade ago said Gignac was so convincing, "it is doubtful he will give it up for a mundane existence."

I'm visualizing an alternate universe where Anthony Enrique Gignac was the President of the United States for eight years and William Jefferson Clinton is in jail for impersonating a Saudi prince and running up bogus charges.

[Thinkin' Gal]

Underneath his Saudi disguise, it appears that he is nothing more than a lowly Paula Poundstone impersonator. Sad!

[Light Speed]

His going to jail will definitely be a "Mounting concern" to him!

[dighton]

"I dreamed I stole a pair of Lamborghinis, in my Maidenform bra."

[MissLuluBelle]

Missed you -- glad to see you back and pinging!

[Optimist]

Here's an idea.....
how about if I travel the US pretending to be an Arab.
I'll bet THAT will get me the respect I deserve.
LOL

[mhking]

He should really buy himself an A-Cup if you ask me......

That's sad - a man with an A-cup an a "Moe" haircut...

[mhking]

Separated at birth:
 

[There's millions of'em]

"Gignac once again acquired an American Express card under his assumed royal name. A spokeswoman for the credit-card company said the account had a $200 million credit line.

I'm sure that goes up after the initial trial period, right?

[sleavelessinseattle]

I'll take the dream if you take Billary out of the Senate as well....

[dennisw]

"I dreamed I stole a pair of Lamborghinis, in my Maidenform bra."

You are dating yourself with that old advertising line. They made sexy commercials for their day.

Intimate apparel maker Maidenform is getting back in shape. The company, born when founders Ida and William Rosenthal invented the bra in the 1920s, makes bras, panties, and other women's dainties and leisure wear sold nationwide, primarily by discount chains and department stores. Although many women grew up with the "I dreamed" Maidenform ads ("I dreamed I stopped traffic in my Maidenform bra"), the company has seen its fortunes sag in recent years. It emerged from a 1997 bankruptcy filing with backing from GE Capital in 1999. In that time, Maidenform's Customize It four-way convertible bra was the biggest product launch in the company's history. Oaktree Capital Management owns a controlling stake in Maidenform.

[sarcasm]

Where have you been?

[dighton]

(#s 10 & 17)

... the company has seen its fortunes sag in recent years.

[Orual]

Anthony Enrique Gignac.....he conned the founders of Jhirmack hair products...

Knick knack, Gignac, Jhirmack give the dog a bone. He certainly had a nac for this gig.